Additional jail term for thief who stole two trucks in three days, driving one from Perth to Albany

A Perth man received jail time after he drove a stolen truck from Perth to Albany, and destroyed the gate of an Albany business to steal a second vehicle after he arrived in the city. Johnn Francis Maksimovic, 54, appeared before the Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday for sentencing via video link from Casuarina Prison, charged with criminal damage or destruction of property, and two counts of stealing a motor vehicle. Police prosecutor Sgt Dylan Fisher told the court Maksimovic had stolen a Mitsubishi truck from the Perth Airport carpark on November 24 2024 after he found the vehicle unlocked and the keys inside. He drove the truck from Perth Airport to Albany, where police found it abandoned on Chester Pass Road two days later. On November 26, Maksimovic stole a Mercedes Benz truck from Abbott’s Liquid Salvage by jamming the key to the Mitsubishi truck in the ignition until he got it to start, then driving it at speed through a metal gate to leave the business’ yard. Police found and arrested Maksimovic in the second stolen truck in the Stirling Range National Park. Sgt Fisher said the thefts had caused significant inconvenience and cost to both victims, with the first stolen truck needing to be towed back to Perth, and Maksimovic’s attempts to start the second truck with the wrong key causing $500 worth of damage to its engine. He said the second stolen vehicle was worth $200,000 and heavily modified to suit its everyday operations, and the quote to repair the damaged gate at Abbott’s Liquid Salvage had been $3000. Defence counsel Shirley Casey said Maksimovic was in a “dark place” in his personal life when the spate of offending occurred. She said Maksimovic had only recently been sentenced in the District Court to 22 months imprisonment, and asked for any new terms of imprisonment imposed to be made concurrent. Magistrate Erin O’Donnell ordered Maksimovic to pay $3500 in reparations to Abbott’s Liquid Salvage, and sentenced him to six months imprisonment to be served cumulatively with his existing sentence, giving him a total of two years and four months behind bars.