Kalgoorlie-Boulder man admits to scraping & smashing car left parked in his allocated bay

A man has admitted to scraping the panel and smashing the windows of a car that had been left parked in his allocated bay at a Kalgoorlie-Boulder multi-unit complex for more than a year. Ned Hugh Rufus Ramsay, 39, appeared in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to one count of damaging property. Police prosecutor Sen. Const. Matthew Fullgrabe said Ramsay damaged a Holden sedan on a Saturday in April after being captured on a security camera walking home. His duty lawyer told the court the owner of the car had left the vehicle parked in a bay allocated to Ramsay, who owned a unit in the complex where the incident took place. The lawyer said the sedan had been left in the bay since February 2023, despite her client “repeatedly” making attempts to have the car moved. She said Ramsay had taken to parking in an adjacent parking spot allocated to a neighbouring unit — which belonged to the landlord of the person parked in his allocated bay — but had received a note threatening to have his car towed if it was not moved. According to the lawyer, Ramsay had been intoxicated at the time of the incident and was “remorseful” for his actions. Sen. Const. Fullgrabe conceded it was unclear which panel scrapes and smashed windows had been caused by Ramsay in April and what had been done during a separate incident of damage to the car in weeks prior. Magistrate Janie Gibbs said while she appreciated there would have been “frustration” at the parking bay situation, it would “never justify” Ramsay’s actions. Ms Gibbs said intoxication was also “no excuse” for what he did. She noted his “limited record” in the 13 years of living in Australia but said there was a previous property damage charge for which Ramsay had been fined $800. The magistrate made it clear she was not punishing him a second time for his historic offence but said it indicated a need to deter similar behaviour in the future. Ramsay was given a discounted sentence to recognise his early plea of guilty and handed a fine of $500, as well as being ordered to pay court costs of $272.70.