Giuseppe Joe Trifilo, 40, of Werribee, is in police custody following an alleged car theft in Deer Park while a nine-year-old girl was on the back seat.
Trifilo has been charged with offences including false imprisonment, unlicensed driving, theft of a motor vehicle, threats to kill and committing an indictable offence while on bail. He has denied the offences.
Appearing in Sunshine Magistrates Court last week via video link, Trifilo did not apply for bail.
He was remanded in custody and will face a contest mention on July 16 at the Sunshine Magistrates Court.
Trifilo is accused of stealing a Kia hatchback with pink number plates, “SING 01”, from veteran South Australian musicians Dave Clark, 70, and Kate Townsend, 69, from a Deer Park BP petrol station on Ballarat Road on Tuesday morning, April 22.
Star Weekly understands Mr Clark, Ms Townsend and their sponsored grandchild, a six-year-old boy, left the car while the Tibetan girl was still in the back seat.
It is alleged an offender snuck into the car and drove off, picking up a female companion who was carrying a TV along a service road.
The girl was let out of the car. The female is still at large.
Melton Crime Investigation Unit’s Detective Robert Henley told
Star Weekly Ms Townsend had gone to pay for the fuel while Mr Clark took the boy to the toilet, leaving the girl in the back seat for less than a minute. Police said it was at that point that the car was stolen.
The couple were returning to Adelaide from a gig at Wild Thyme in the Yarra Valley.
Mr Clark was an early influence on iconic Australian musician Paul Kelly and was mentioned in his autobiography How To Make Gravy.
