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An off-duty police officer has been charged with drink-driving offences.

About 6.10pm yesterday (Tuesday 27 October 2015), officers from The Hume Local Area Command stopped a Mazda SUV in Auburn Street, Goulburn, and spoke with the driver.

The male driver was arrested after allegedly failing to supply a roadside breath test sample.

He was taken to Goulburn Police Station, where he allegedly refused to provide a breath analysis sample.

The officer, who is attached to Southern Region, was issued with a Field Court Attendance Notice for fail to submit to roadside breath test and refuse to submit to breath analysis.

He is due to appear in Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday 18 November 2015.

A COMMUNITY is mourning a young girl believed to have been murdered at her home in Victoria’s northeast at the weekend.

Zoe, 11, who was remembered as a sweet girl and a “beautiful angel”.

Neighbours and friends, among them children in school uniform, gathered outside the Wangaratta house today to lay flowers and toys for Zoe, 11, who was remembered as a sweet girl and a “beautiful angel”.

Distraught mother Janelle Saunders was being comforted by police and family, as homicide detectives continued to probe for clues into the suspected murder.

A 29-year-old Mildura man remained under police guard in a psychiatric unit of the Wangaratta Hospital.

It’s understood he was an acquaintance of the Saunders family, but was not well known to them. It’s believed he had attended a party at their Inchbold St property on Saturday night.

Local parents told of their anguish at having to explain the death to their children, including Zoe’s classmates at a primary school nearby to her home.

Police were yet to lay charges and were today speaking to “several” potential witnesses over the death.

Neighbours described a “beautiful” family, and said there were often friends gathered at the Saunders’ home.

It’s understood Zoe had been living with her mum and her mum’s long-term boyfriend, and that her biological dad died suddenly a number of years ago.

Pictures shared with friends and relatives by Ms Saunders and her partner revealed a happy household: Zoe playing with their pet dog Jax, family holidays to the beach and the snow, Zoe riding a horse.

Ms Saunders regularly shared photographs of her daughter, and had “Zoe Louise” tattooed across her wrist.

Police are investigating a reported sighting of fugitive father and son Gino and Mark Stocco on the Hume Highway in southern New South Wales.

A media briefing scheduled for 2:00pm (AEDT) on Monday in Wagga Wagga was delayed so police could follow up the reported sighting at Tarcutta, about 50 kilometres east of Wagga Wagga.

Earlier, police said the pair could have stockpiles of supplies and weapons throughout New South Wales and Victoria.

Victorian Assistant Commissioner Rick Nugent said the sighting at Tarcutta was “unconfirmed”.

“New South Wales police are following up on that and we’ll continue to deploy our policing resources in and around the border and the north-east of Victoria,” he said.

He said Victoria Police would continue to assess their operational plans over the next few days before deciding whether or not to scale back the operation.

“Certainly the last confirmed sighting was on Saturday night at 9:00pm south of Gundagai. It’s now Monday,” he said.

“We’ll assess that later on and also again [on Tuesday], and if information and intelligence suggests they’ve continued in another direction we’ll look at winding back the operation here.

“But intelligence does indicate that the Stoccos do move frequently between southern New South Wales and north-east Victoria. We have that from the confirmed sightings.”

Assistant Commissioner Nugent said it appeared the pair was operating alone.

“We know that they drove off without paying for fuel recently. We do believe they’re running out of money and that they are not getting support from others, but we continue to investigate that,” he said.

“Our intelligence suggests that if they’re running out of money they will look at ways that they can obtain some food or other supplies — most likely by stealing them covertly.”

How fugitive father and son Gino and Mark Stocco keep evading a major police operation to find them.
The last confirmed sighting of the father and son at Gundagai in southern NSW occurred when they stopped to fill up a white Toyota LandCruiser with fuel, and drove away without paying, about 9:00pm (AEDT) on Saturday night.

Police also received a report of a sighting east of Wagga Wagga on Sunday morning, but have been unable to confirm that, Wagga Wagga Superintendent Bob Noble said.

There had been multiple sightings of the stolen vehicle in Victoria over the previous few days, including an unconfirmed sighting at Sale, in the state’s south-east, on Saturday morning.

Superintendent Noble said it was possible the men had caches of supplies hidden in bushland in NSW and Victoria.

“These are obviously fairly resourceful individuals,” Superintendent Noble told 702 ABC Sydney.

“They work in a team, obviously. There’s a high trust model. They are father and son. So it’s quite possible that level of organisation is present.”

Police have been running a major operation to capture Gino, 57, and his 35-year-old son since they allegedly shot at police with a high-powered rifle during a car chase in Wagga Wagga earlier this month.

Police believe the men have been changing their appearance, including shaving their beards.

They are wanted for a number of violent crimes and property offences in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Toyota LandCruiser used by Stocco fugitives
Photo: The Toyota LandCruiser ute was captured on CCTV at Bairnsdale on October 21. (Victoria Police)

“We’re keeping an open mind about the search pattern and the areas because they are mobile and the situation appears fluid,” Superintendent Noble said.

“The police want to see these people apprehended.

“There’s no hard evidence that they are likely to be violent towards members of the community but they have demonstrated a propensity for violence towards police and, to that end, they are unpredictable.

“People are concerned about that. People out in rural areas are concerned particularly because this seems to be the environment they’re comfortable in.”

The men are believed to be frequently changing the licence plates on the LandCruiser ute, and police believe they are in possession of at least four sets of plates: Vic YHS085, SA S415AZL, Vic ZUE632 and NSW BV70WP.

The ute is also fitted with a distinctive white bull bar, white rims and a black snorkel at the front of the vehicle on the driver’s side.

“A nice vehicle, a late model LandCruiser, and obviously there’s a fair few of them running around in this part of the world but we are taking all those alleged sightings and all that information seriously and chasing it all down,” Superintendent Noble said.

Police are appealing for information after a possible sighting of a vehicle linked to two wanted men.

A white Toyota LandCruiser drove into a service station on the Hume Highway at South Gundagai about 9pm today (Saturday 24 October 2015).

It was filled with fuel, and allegedly left the premises without payment being made.

Police believe it may be the same vehicle allegedly stolen from Little Billabong, north of Holbrook, between 7pm on Sunday 18 October 2015 and 8am the following day.

It’s believed the vehicle may have been taken by Gino and Mark Stucco, a father and son from Queensland who are currently wanted in a number of Australian states for a range of alleged criminal offences.

The vehicle involved in this evening’s alleged fail-to-pay incident has South Australian number plates S415 AZL.

Anyone who sees this vehicle should not approach it, but contact Triple Zero immediately.

Operation Hydra, a joint operation between the NSW Police Force and the RMS, has concluded with more than 200 defect notices issued to non-compliant trucks.

The operation, being led by the Joint Heavy Vehicle Taskforce, was activated in response to recent heavy-vehicle crashes, fires and other non-compliance issues. It started on Monday (19 October 2015) and concluded yesterday (Friday 23 October 2015).

Notable results from the operation include:

– 1004 trucks and trailers were inspected;

– 203 (21 Major, 182 Minor) defect notices were issued for a range of issues regarding wheels and tyres, brakes, oil and fuel leaks, suspension, and body and chassis problems;

– 10 speed-limiters were found to have been tampered with to allow trucks to travel in excess of the 100kmh speed limit for heavy vehicles;

– Nine drivers returned positive roadside drug tests and will front court; and,

– One driver was found to be in possession of drugs, drug implements, and a prohibited weapon, in addition to driving a truck with a tampered speed-limiter.

Assistant Commissioner John Hartley of the NSW Police Force’s Traffic & Highway Patrol Command said compliance and enforcement are critical to changing poor truck driver behaviour across NSW.

“Given that 63 per cent, or 256 million tonnes, of Australia’s road freight is passing through New South Wales, we need to do everything we can to ensure trucks are being driven lawfully,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.

“Following recent fatal and serious injury crashes, truck fires and roll-overs, the Joint Heavy Vehicle Taskforce is there to work with industry for the benefit of road safety in NSW, and across Australia.”

Assistant Commissioner Hartley said that the Joint Heavy Vehicle Taskforce can be established quickly in response to significant incidents on NSW roads.

“We can activate the Taskforce at very short notice,” he said.

“To have one truck with transmission and engine oil leaks, exhaust leaks, inoperative headlights, parklights and horn, as well as obstructed numberplates, a loose driver’s seat, and poorly adjusted service brakes, proves the worth of our work.

“To have another truck driver test positive to drugs, found to be in possession of drugs and a prohibited weapon, in a truck that had its speed-limiter tampered, suggests quite clearly that these trucks and drivers should not only not have been on the road, they should not have been allowed to leave distribution centres in that condition.

“I would like to think our work has effectively prevented serious injury or fatal crashes on our roads in these two cases.”

Roads and Maritime Services Director Safety and Compliance Peter Wells said the results showed there was still work to do in ensuring the heavy vehicle industry was operating at an optimal level for the safety of all road users.

“Having looked at 1000 trucks or trailers at distribution centres, it was encouraging to find signs of improvement at some sites. It is clear that some Distribution Centre executives are taking this seriously. We are occasionally now finding sites that are well-managed for chain of responsibility and road transport.

“However, it is still clear others are not being well-managed for safe and compliant operations of truck transport,” Mr Wells said.

“Of serious concern we found 10 trucks with non-compliant speed limiters to enable them to illegally speed more than 100 km/h, as well as 21 major defects.

“Driver fatigue at some sites was not being managed well at all.

“We will be working closely with the heavy vehicle industry to see if we can stamp out the 10 per cent of rogue operators who are letting the side down badly.

“We will now engage closely with Senior Executives from these sites with detailed feedback for them to manage,” he said.

A car that rammed police in northern Victoria was not the same one two of Australia’s most wanted fugitives were last seen in, and Victoria Police do not believe the pair were behind the wheel.

Police continue their hunt for Australia’s most wanted fugitives, Gino and Mark Stocco, who have been on the run for eight years and were this week seen moving around northern Victoria.

The latest sighting of the father-son duo was by police at a station post near Castella, heading north on the Melba Highway about 1am Thursday, towards Glenburn.

Police said they were driving at high speeds of up to 140km/h in a stolen Toyota Landcruiser.

The duo, who police warned could be heavily armed, are wanted for a number of crimes including arson, fraud and allegedly firing shots at a pursuing police car in Wagga Wagga last Friday.

On Thursday afternoon Victoria Police confirmed a vehicle, which rammed a police car near Lake Rowan, in Benalla, in Victoria’s north-east, was not the same vehicle being driven by the fugitives.

Gino and Mark Stocco were reportedly spotted at a Euroa petrol station on Monday.

A police spokesperson said in a statement that police didn’t believe they were driving the vehicle.

They said officers would continue to focus their search for the wanted pair in the Yea area, about 120km south-west of Benalla.

Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Dan Trimble said a highway patrol intercepted the car “for a routine check and it reversed into their vehicle and then took off”.

“There was two people in the car and they haven’t been identified … we don’t believe it was them, and we’re maintaining our search in the Yea area at this stage,” Supt Trimble said.

He said police had increased patrols around Lake Rowan searching for the car involved in the ramming incident.

Police warned the public to be vigilant and not approach the pair, who were believed to be carrying a semi-automatic rifle as well as a shotgun.

On Sunday night, the owner of a Landcruiser reported it stolen from his property at Little Billabong, north of Albury in NSW.

The men were later reportedly seen at a petrol station at Euroa, in Victoria.

Police confirmed the ute spotted near Castella on Thursday morning was the same vehicle stolen in NSW and both men were said to be in the car.

Detective Inspector Ian Campbell said during a press conference later on Thursday, a shooting at a highway patrol car in Wagga Wagga during a random intercept had sparked the intensified manhunt.

“It was a desperate act by two men who might have panicked purely because they were fearful of being caught with weapons on them,” Insp Campbell said.

Police also stressed that despite having been shown in pictures to have long hair and beards, the pair are clean shaven with short hair.