In a year the Border experienced an increased police presence at checkpoints, there were extra capabilities in 2020 to arrest people breaking the law, as well as resolutions to a series of violent and disturbing court cases.
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Justice goes digital
A backlog of North East court cases was being built up when Victorian courts shut down in part during the coronavirus pandemic, until first the Supreme and County, then the Magistrates Court, started conducting hearings online.
Courtroom virus scare
The courthouse in Wangaratta was shut down and police and staff isolated on July 2 when they came into contact with a man from a Melbourne coronavirus hotspot.
Hassein Halloum travelled from the suburb of Dallas to Wangaratta just hours after new laws came into effect requiring people from those areas to stay home unless for essential purposes.
He was a man originally from Lebanon who spoke little English and did not realise he was not meant to leave home.
About 20 more people in the courthouse - including staff, police, security, lawyers and media - were told to wait inside the building as they tried to work out protocol for the new laws. DHHS recommended that anyone who was inside with the man from the hotspot should go home and isolate, then get tested for coronavirus in a few days.
Arrests at the border
Barnawartha man Jarrad Searby, 34, was one of the first arrested for trying to cross the closed border into NSW when he was stopped at a checkpoint between Wahgunyah and Corowa on July 9.
Other crimes uncovered by police at the checkpoints included a Wagga man allegedly with 94 grams of ice under a seat cover and more drugs in his socks, a man trying three times in two days to get through different checkpoints to get to Woy Woy to live with his uncle, and a Victorian man charged after crossing the border in a taxi while carrying more than $14,000, ice and drug paraphernalia.
Rapist teacher jailed
Wayne Robinson was locked up in February for at least seven years and 10 months for sexual offences against nine children, including a boy as young as eight, over a 13-year period through his Wangaratta-based Northern Rivers Academy of Music business.
One teacher caught Robinson in 2007 as he massaged a teenage boy, which startled the offender.
Electric car rage
Alan Wilton was drunk on vodka on February 20 when he used his skateboard to smash an electric car in an Albury car park, causing $3000 in damage.
His actions caused a stir after they were captured by the car's security cameras and the video spread on social media.
The magistrate said Wilton's actions represented what amounted to a "very expensive" exercise, fining Wilton $2000 and ordering he pay compensation of $3388.41 to NRMA insurance.
Massage parlour rape
A trip to Chen's Chinese Massage to deal with a lower back issue on March 19 ended with a woman frozen in fear as she was allegedly raped on the massage table inside the Wangaratta business.
Ashraf Asla, 46, allegedly told the woman to remove all her clothing, including her underwear, and a normal massage turned into rape that was described as "deliberate and vigorous".
More people have come forward with allegations against Asla, with 17 witnesses set to give evidence against him when the case returns to court in 2021.
Woman's death still remains unclear
Emergency services were called to the property - she was found dead inside and a large number of forensic officers examined the scene the following morning.
Wrong side of the law
Solicitor Alina Yousif, who took part in supplying methamphetamine in Albury, was handed a three-year jail term in July, but is serving the sentence by way of an intensive corrections order.
Yousif had been arrested in a police operation targeting drugs linked to the Bandidos bikie gang.
Not guilty verdict
Howlong man Phillip Franks was found not guilty in August of causing the death of Billy Bolton outside his home in 2018.
Franks had a blood alcohol reading of 0.160 when he turned into his driveway on July 19, 2018.
Mr Bolton, who had no helmet or lights, and had a alcohol reading of 0.225, hit Franks' Nissan Navara.
He was catapulted over the vehicle after hitting his head on the windscreen and died at the scene.
While the judge said it was a tragedy, he said Franks would not have been able to see the oncoming riders and there was an absence of a causal connection between his alcohol reading and the crash.
Big fine after deaths
Norske Skog was fined more than $1 million in September following the deaths of two men in a workplace incident which left a third man fighting for life.
The company faced the District Court in Sydney following the gas leak on May 24, 2018, which killed Ben Pascall and Lyndon Quinlivan.
Tom Johnson was also seriously injured and was placed on life support but was released after about two weeks, with no ongoing issues. Multiple safety shortcomings were identified at the site.
Bombs and shootings
Wodonga man Joshua Spittal was arrested by Special Operations Group police on September 21 following a series of drive-by shooting in the city.
Shots were fired at homes in Wornes Drive, Gilbert Street and Georgina Street, with a further incident reported at Quirk Court.
Footage showed a vehicle travelling around Wodonga and shots fired at the homes, with at least two offenders thought to be involved.
A month later, members of the public took cover after an alleged broad daylight shooting outside Kmart in Wodonga on October 21 at about 7pm, in front of about 50 people. One bystander said they saw two men arguing outside the business before the gun was fired. The alleged shooter, Daniel Boyton, remains in custody.
Jail for murder
The murderer described by a judge as his victim's "drinking chum" was sentenced to 20 years in jail in October.
In sentencing Darcy McNamara, Justice Michael Croucher said the murder victim, Wangaratta man Nathan Day, "met a tragic and grisly end" when his throat was cut with a sharp implement on July 26, 2018.
He and co-offender Phillip Dunn both claimed they helped the other commit the act of killing Mr Day.
Dunn was released after serving more than two years in jail, following his plea to a charge of assisting McNamara.
A terrorism threat
Tyler Jakovac was charged in December with encouraging a mass casualty terrorist attack after espousing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist views.
The 18-year-old was arrested at a home in Albury and later charged with advocating terrorism and urging violence against members or groups.
He had been monitored by federal and NSW police since August but a recent escalation prompted investigators to intervene.
Police allege he used the web service Telegram to urge violence and the killing of "non-whites, Jews and Muslims".
