uncle of late actor Heath Ledger will face a District Court trial over his alleged role in a heist worth nearly half a million dollars, a Perth magistrate ruled today.Two of the three bobcats, worth a total of $112,000, and a $300,000 truck were allegedly stolen in July, the Midland Magistrates Court heard. The other bobcat, worth $25,000, was taken from a Lockridge property on June 1. A second man has been charged over the alleged offences but the person who carried out the burglary has not been found, the court heard. Today Mr Ledger, 52, of Woodbridge in Perth's north-east, failed to avoid having the charges dealt with by a higher court, where he could face 14 years' jail. His lawyer George Giudice argued that the case should remain in the magistrates court – where the maximum penalty is two years jail or a $24,000 fine – as the alleged crime was not so serious as to warrant committal to the District Court. But police prosecutor Sgt Bob Rundle told the court the penalties in the lower court were inadequate. Magistrate Colin Roberts agreed, saying he could not “turn a blind eye” to the fact that the charges were linked to an “almost half a million dollar heist’’ and that he gave strong consideration to another matter which was subject to a suppression order. Mr Ledger, who has not entered a plea to the charges, was released on bail ahead of his next court appearance on September 26.
In March, Mr Ledger controversially suggested that his famous nephew could have fathered a child. He said Heath was a 17-year-old schoolboy when he had an affair with an older woman who is thought to have discovered she was pregnant only after their relationship ended.
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