Christopher Jacob Pugh says he stole multiple caravans, a trailer, golf clubs and tools ‘out of spite’

CCTV reveals the moment a man wanders into an Adelaide caravan dealership and hitches one up to his stolen ute - all while wearing hi-vis.

Court-released CCTV shows the moment a man brazenly steals two caravans using a stolen ute - all while dressed in high-vis.

The footage shows Christopher Jacob Pugh driving into the Goldstar Carvans factory, before choosing a caravan to steal, hitching it up and driving off past a nearby business.

Pugh, from Townsville, visited Goldstar Caravans in Old Reynella and spoke with staff about buying a caravan, the District Court heard.

The 44-year-old has been jailed after pleading guilty to three counts of dishonestly taking property, one count of basic criminal trespass to a non-residential premises, unlawfully on premises, unlawful possession and possessing a controlled drug.

“You made some inquiries of an employee about some caravans, including where they were made, who owned the business, what time the employees finished and the identity of the manager,” Judge Nicolas Alexandrides said during sentencing.

Pugh told the court he started using Methylamphetamine to take away the “pain and shame” after he was allegedly abused in youth detention. Picture: File

Pugh was spotted on CCTV – wearing hi-vis clothing – two nights later, on October 3, 2024, entering the Goldstar Caravan factory in Lonsdale using a stolen white utility to steal two caravans.

Police located Pugh days later at Coonalpyn Caravan Park in possession of a range of stolen property from Victoria and South Australia and a small bag of methamphetamine.

He told the court he started using meth to take away the “pain and shame” after he was allegedly abused in youth detention.

Pugh said he had purchased a caravan in December 2022, but it was delivered to Townsville with “problems” – including a faulty washing machine and TV and leaking water.

The court heard he then went to Victoria to get a few things to “fix” the caravan, but kept getting “messed around” – and ultimately decided to steal the two caravans “out of spite”.

“You said you were not in the right frame of mind because you had been using drugs for a long time … you now appreciate that you should have done things differently and gone and paid for the caravan parts,” Judge Alexandrides said.

“You say that you regret having taken the caravans.”

The total amount of stolen goods, from various businesses across the two states, totalled more than $160,000.

The court also heard he had in his possession a trailer taken from Mount Lofty Scouts, which had also lost camping equipment and other items during a break-in on October 23, 2023.

Pugh told the court he had used his time in custody since his arrest in October “well” and participated in programs to help him “stay away from drugs” and is looking forward to spending time with his daughter and terminally ill father.

“You now want to have a life where you are present as a father and be the person that your family deserves,” his honour said

Judge Alexandrides sentenced Pugh to three years and six month imprisonment with a non parole period of two years, nine months and 18 days.

His Honour said he was not satisfied there was “good reason” to suspend the sentence or for Pugh to serve it on home detention.

The sentence was back dated to October 5, 2023.