A man who pleaded guilty to stealing a car with a baby inside has become a target in prison, an Adelaide court has been told.
Key points:
- Ilias Latsis is accused of stealing a car with a baby inside
- He pleaded guilty to theft and abduction in May
- The court heard he wants to change his pleas because he was affected by drugs at the time
Ilias Sammy Latsis, 37, is trying to change his pleas over the incident in Klemzig in May, saying he was intoxicated.
The incident sparked an urgent and widespread manhunt and the baby boy was reunited with his mother two hours later when the car was found abandoned in Enfield.
Two weeks after the pleas were entered in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, Mr Latsis’s former lawyer, Stephen Ey, said his client raised concerns about “adverse reactions” to the decision.
“The case had attracted a lot of attention, because of the child,” Mr Ey said during Friday’s hearing to have the pleas struck out.
“Certainly in jail, it’s not uncommon that people have [an] offence against children are subject of persecution, both physical and oral.”
“The way he conveyed it to me, I got the impression he was copping it, and I don’t mean physically, but verbally.”
‘Strung out’ but coherent, court hears
The court was told Mr Latsis had been a “lifetime” user of methamphetamine, including at the time of the alleged theft and abduction in May.
But both Mr Ey and his colleague, Clare Smyth, gave testimony that while Mr Latsis appeared to be a drug user, and even appeared “strung out” and anxious, he had no problem understanding instructions or providing information in their meetings after his arrest.
“If I had one skerrick of thought that Mr Latsis wasn’t in a position to instruct me, on that day, I would have got the matter adjourned,” Mr Ey said.
One of Adelaide’s top criminal lawyers – with 44 years experience – Mr Ey said he had advised his client to express remorse and plead guilty on the first occasion, in the hopes the charges would be downgraded or Mr Latsis would receive a discounted sentence.
“It’s no great benefit to me to do what we did, it’s the benefit to him.”
But Mr Ey conceded it was unusual to enter a plea on the first court appearance in such a serious matter.
He also acknowledged that he had not obtained signed instructions from Mr Latsis because they were separated by a barrier at the Adelaide City Watch House.
Mr Latsis has new legal representation, and both Mr Ey and Ms Smith gave their evidence with the client-lawyer confidentiality waived.
The dispute over Mr Latsis’s pleas is due to return to court in December, although the court also heard there were negotiations between the defence and prosecution in the hopes of reaching a resolution.
