A man who claimed to be unfit to answer driving charges because of injuries he sustained in a gangland shooting has failed in his bid to avoid prosecution.
Herbert Wrout will now plead guilty to a series of driving charges, his lawyer Chris Triscott told the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today.
Wrout, 66, was sitting alongside his friend Lewis Moran when two balaclava-clad men burst into the Brunswick club on March 31, 2004.
Moran was shot dead in the ambush but Wrout survived with wounds to his chest and arms.
Wrout lost his spleen and suffered extensive injuries in the incident.
At a hearing last October, Wrout claimed he was unfit to answer charges of unlicensed driving, driving while disqualified and refusing a preliminary breath test. But Mr Triscott told the court that his client would now plead guilty to the charges.
He asked for the hearing to be adjourned to allow more time for reports to be obtained.
Magistrate Simon Garnett ordered Wrout to face court again on March 12.
Evangelos Goussis was found guilty last May of shooting crime patriarch Moran and of causing Wrout - who was shot by a second gunman - serious injury.
Goussis is serving a minimum of 15 years for killing gangland figure Lewis Caine in May 2004.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Bert Wrout
Crime News Media
