The Porsche driver accused of filming a dying police officer after a horrific crash that killed four officers is set to plead guilty to charges next month.
Millionaire businessman Richard Pusey, 41, appeared via videolink on Monday in a Melbourne court where he faced numerous charges – one of which hasn’t been used since the 1600s in England.
‘Amazing. Absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and eat my sushi and now you have f**ked my f**king car,’ Pusey was allegedly heard to say as Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor lay dying.
Richard Pusey was arrested on April 23, one day after the fatal crash which killed four police officers
Pictured: Emergency services trying to remove a Porsche from the scene the day after a fatal crash on Eastern Highway in Kew
Pusey had avoided the crash that killed the officers after he jumped the fence to urinate.
A listing for Pusey’s arraignment in the County Court of Victoria appeared online on Monday just hours after his suppressed court hearing took place.
Pusey is being represented by top Melbourne barrister Dermot Dann, QC, who has long argued his client would plead guilty to some charges if police cut his client a deal.
His client has been listed to appear at the County Court of Victoria on March 1.
Pusey remains in jail at the Metropolitan Remand Centre where he has languished since he was arrested again late last year after causing a scene on the roof of his Fitzroy home.
He has been contesting a charge of ‘outraging public decency’, which was added to his existing 12 charges in late June.
Pusey has long contested the offence on the basis it has never been used in Australian legal history.
The court listing suggests either Pusey has given up his fight over the charge or police have.
Prosecutor Robyn Harper had previously warned Pusey that the Crown would not back down on the ancient ‘outrage’ charge, arguing that elements of the charge had been used before in prosecuting sex offenders.
Ms Harper produced newspaper court reports dating back more than 100 years to back-up her claims.
Whatever the case, the development moves Pusey a step closer to finally being released from jail.
While in the lower magistrates’ court, it was heard that Pusey had been co-operative with police after they pulled him over on April 22 on Melbourne‘s Eastern Freeway amid allegations he was speeding.
Mr Dann said Pusey’s behaviour toward Leading Senior Constable Taylor had been conducted in a ‘good natured way’ before the truck hit.
‘There was laughing between them. This can be seen. There is evidence of Mr Pusey describing Leading Senior Constable Taylor as being lovely and nice. And this is in the immediate aftermath of this filming,’ Mr Dann said.
‘It’s no part of the defence case that there can be some kind of characterisation of this whole event as Mr Pusey being angry with the individual officers that he was dealing with at the scene. We say that’s not part of our case and it’s not the evidence.’
The mortgage broker (pictured in a court sketch) avoided being struck because he’d been urinating off to the side of the road
Pusey had faced a dozen charges and has indicated he will plead guilty to at least some of them
Senior Constable Kevin King (pictured, far left), Constable Glen Humphris (second from left), Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor (second from right) and and Constable Josh Prestney (far right) all died in the crash
Mr Dann said his client had not argued with police and said the prosecution agreed too that Pusey had not taunted the dying officer.
‘He cannot be described as taunting any of the police officers,’ he said.
Mr Dann argued no trace of the actual charge being prosecuted could be found in Australian legal history.
The court had heard previously the legal process could have dragged on for years if Pusey contested the charge.
The driver of the truck, Mohinder Singh, had already pleaded guilty to four counts of culpable driving and also remains behind bars.
Mr Dann had previously argued that even if the charge did exist, his client could not have been found guilty of it because hardly anyone had heard his comments.
Top Melbourne barrister Dermot Dann, QC, (left) claimed police had charged Richard Pusey with an offence that may not even exist in Australia. He is pictured with ex Tiger Jake King
Pusey has been behind bars practically since April when a truck crashed into four officers after they pulled him over for allegedly driving at 149km/h in his Porsche 911 with cannabis and ice in his system.
The three male officers were already dead when Pusey allegedly began filming.
Public funerals were held for all four officers after the tragedy, which marked the single greatest loss of police life in Victoria’s history.
Pusey’s previous 12 charges include driving at a dangerous speed, reckless conduct endangering life, destruction of evidence, perverting the course of justice, failing to remain at the scene after a drug test and failing to render assistance.
At a previous hearing, Magistrate Jo Metcalf labelled Pusey’s alleged filming of the graphic crash scene as ‘highly intrusive and morally repugnant’ but noted it was not illegal.
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