ON THE run after being convicted in his absence for draining a dementia patient’s bank account of more than $11,000, Wagga man Gavin Michael Johnson has even more to worry about.
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The 37-year-old Tolland man this week was fined $600 for having custody of a knife in a public place.
Johnson was convicted by a magistrate after he again failed to front court to face the charge.
Johnson caused a furore in the Fox Street McDonald’s restaurant on April 4 when he pulled a meat cleaver out of his backpack while ordering food about 8.20pm.
According to police facts tendered to the court, Johnson was heard to say something like “you wants me” after he pulled the meat cleaver out of the backpack.
He then put the meat cleaver back in the backpack without any further fuss.
Police were called and spoke with Johnson as he sat eating his meal in the outdoor dining area.
Johnson told the police he was in the process of returning the meat cleaver to a friend.
He said he only pulled it out of the backpack at the food counter so he could get other belongings out of the bag.
“At no stage did the accused intend to use it or intend to cause fear to any persons in McDonald’s.” the facts said.
Johnson was charged and granted bail on the condition he front Wagga Local Court on May 17.
The McDonald’s incident happened the day before Johnson was due to face court to answer 20 counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
According to police facts for that matter, Johnson somehow obtained a bank card of a dementia sufferer.
The new card and personal identification number had been mailed to the victim at a Wagga address, but he was no longer there, having moved to Sydney. Between August 25 and September 13 last year, Johnson made cash withdrawals at automatic telling machines.
The fraud was uncovered when the victim’s son went to pay some bills for his father and found the account was empty. A warrant was issued for Johnson’s arrest when he did not turn up to court on April 5.