THE head of the T-shirt gang spun a “bold-faced lie” in a bid to get a reduced sentence for a string of offences in the North East, a court has heard.
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In a handwritten letter to Judge Marilyn Harbison, Jack McLean claimed to have been on 23-hour lockdown in his cell while on remand, followed by 18-hour lockdown.
He was arrested last November over a string of break-ins, thefts and other offences.
McLean claimed riots at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, where he waited while his legal matters played out, saw him locked in his cell for all but one hour a day.
The 24-year-old wrote the “impact emotionally and mentally was huge”.
“I really struggled being locked in for long periods of time,” he penned to the judge.
He said the time had given him a chance to think about his life and where it was heading, and how he barely knew his young daughter.
But a check with the Metropolitan Remand Centre painted an entirely different image, with McLean instead having up to 11-and-a-half hours a day free to walk the prison as a cleaner.
“It was a sham, untrue, and it was designed to pervert the course of justice,” prosecutor David O’Doherty told the Wodonga County Court.
“It shows a complete lack of remorse, it shows a manipulative mind.
“You just can’t believe him.
“It’s just a blatant lie, boldfaced.”
The judge said that appeared to be accurate during Wednesday’s hearing.
“I think it is likely true that this is the case,” Ms Harbison said.
“The fact you have been prepared to lie to me casts some doubt over the issue of rehabilitation.”
McLean must spend a little over nine months behind bars, having already spent nearly a year in custody.
He must also pay $11,705 in compensation to the victims of his crime spree and spend three years undertaking community corrections.
One Wodonga victim, Darryle Macklan, slammed the leniency of the sentence outside court.
He had 14 guns – heirlooms from his father and grandfather – stolen from his home, and said the incident had dramatically changed his life.
McLean was not convicted over the break-in but was convicted of handling the stolen items.
“They were supposed to go to my four grandchildren,” he said of the guns.
Some of the guns dated back to at least 1938 and only one was recovered, but with the barrel cut down.
Mr Macklan is concerned the weapons are still out there and was unhappy with the sentence.
“I still haven't gotten my firearms back,” he said.
“He's getting away scot-free in my book.”
