Eleanor Campbell
A Malvern East man was arrested following a three-hour siege after he allegedly smashed several cars, assaulted a driver and threatened police with a chainsaw before barricading himself inside his house.
Christopher Egan-Lee, 43, was charged with several offences including unlawful assault and criminal damage after he allegedly went on a violent rampage around the suburb on Saturday night.
Footage seen by this masthead shows Egan-Lee repeatedly punching and yelling at an unidentified man inside a car next to his property on St John’s Lane just after 5.30pm.
Police allege he then rammed his car into two vehicles, including one with a 12-year-old boy inside, after ripping off his own number plates and driving erratically around the neighbourhood.
He then attempted to break into a fourth car containing a woman and a child, chasing them in his vehicle as they fled the scene, police say.
Dandenong Road resident Shane Priscina said he was walking home from the supermarket when he was alerted by loud noises in the laneway behind his apartment complex.
“I opened the back gate and as soon as he saw me … he used the words to the effect of ‘you’re f—ed’ or ‘you’re dead mate’ … and he just started charging towards me,” he said.
“I ran through our building and managed to get through the front doors and just ran straight onto Dandenong Road to get distance between us, and so I could get near people just in case anything did happen.”
CCTV footage captures the moment Egan-Lee is alleged to have chased his neighbour through a car park before attempting to kick in a fire escape and exiting through a garage door.
Hours later, the quiet residential estate was crawling with heavily armed officers who were climbing onto neighbours’ roofs after police say Egan-Lee armed himself with a chainsaw, locked himself inside his house and refused to come out.
He was arrested after surrendering to police about 9.30pm. He was bailed on Sunday and is scheduled to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in September.
Residents say Egan-Lee’s behaviour has grown increasingly aggressive after a dispute over street parking broke out in October.
Images appear to show neighbours’ cars damaged and covered in broken wine bottles, cracked eggs and faeces.
Another video taken in January, seen by this masthead, shows a man neighbours say is Egan-Lee in his underwear confronting a resident while brandishing a paint scraper.
CCTV footage also reveals a similar incident in February, in which a man neighbours say is Egan-Lee can be seen attempting to remove the number plates off a vehicle on Dandenong Road before charging at it while it reversed.
According to a LinkedIn profile, he is employed as a personal trainer and a business development manager at a Victorian-based ATM provider.
This masthead has contacted him for comment.
A police spokesperson confirmed the seven charges against Egan-Lee, saying they were aware of a video of a man being assaulted while parking his car on St John’s Lane on Saturday.
“It is still being determined whether this incident is linked,” the statement said.
Police are appealing for witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
