A MAN who set up a shower inside a Telstra shed on top of Mount Panorama over the race weekend had two charges against him dismissed after appearing in Bathurst Local Court on Monday.
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Vincent Caiafa, 66, from Victoria, was charged with enter enclosed lands and destroy or damage property after he constructed a temporary shower in what he thought was an unused shed over the V8 race weekend.
Police facts tendered to the court told how between 7am and 11am on October 8 this year Caiafa did intentionally damage property, a concrete wall, which was the property of Telstra.
The facts indicated Caiafa, who was visiting Bathurst for the races, entered a Telstra substation on Brock’s Skyline, where the gate was believed to be locked with a padlock. The location was surrounded by a six-foot high fence.
The door to the shed, which only contained a power board, was closed with cable ties.
At 10.30am, a witness arrived at the location after receiving a call from his employer to fix issues with power at the location.
When he arrived the witness had a conversation with Caiafa, who was camping at sites 35, 36 and 37, next to the shed.
The witness noticed a power lead running from the shed to the campsite where Caifa was staying. He turned off the power supply to prevent anyone getting electrocuted.
The witness said a shower had been set up inside the shed, a power box inside the shed had been damaged, and two holes had been drilled in a concrete wall.
Caiafa admitted to being in the shed and drilling holes in the concrete wall, but did not make any admissions to damaging the power supply at the location. He told police the gate was unlocked.
In a written plea of guilt, Caiafa said he had never been in trouble in his life and had made the wrong decision about where to construct a shower on top of Mount Panorama.