Daniel Luke Paparone: Jailed Coolangatta man guilty of 30-plus offences
A Gold Coast father-of-two who has languished in custody since January, when he was arrested for breaking into three businesses, has been told what an awful dad he is to his kids. His crimes revealed.
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A Gold Coast father-of-two who has languished in custody since January, when he was arrested for breaking into three businesses, has been told what an awful dad he is to his kids.
Coolangatta man Daniel Luke Paparone, 28, appeared via audiovisual link in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday, July 18.
He pleaded guilty to more than 30 charges, mostly related to property and drug offending, and breaching court orders.
His most serious offending occurred on January 2 this year, when he broke into a trio of local businesses to steal property.
The businesses were Broadway Pharmacy at Biggera Waters, Merrimac Medical Centre & Skin Cancer Clinic, and LD Dental Laboratory at Robina.
He was arrested and remanded in custody that same day.
Other offences, some dating back to late 2023, Paparone pleaded guilty to included the theft of tools from Bunnings Oxenford, stealing sandwiches from Woolworths, transporting a stolen gold bracelet worth $8500 over the border from Tweed Heads, and the repeated theft of dental equipment such as electric toothbrushes, apparently to trade for drugs.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Blair Casey told the court it was clear Paparone, whose criminal history was littered with like offending, had clearly not addressed his drug abuse.
He conceded that some of the offending, such as stealing food from Woolworths, was from “need not want”.
Defence lawyer Ahmed Dib told the court his client turned to drugs after finding himself out on the streets as a teenager, and he’d never been able to get himself clean.
His client would reside with his mother, alongside the younger of Paparone’s two children, after his release, and wanted to participate in a 12-month residential rehabilitation program.
Midway through the sentence, Magistrate Pamela Dowse asked Paparone why he was shaking.
“Are you well?” she asked.
“Why are you shaking?”
Paparone responded: “I’ve got health conditions from using drugs in the past. I’ve been clean since I’ve been in jail.”
Magistrate Dowse told Paparone he shouldn’t have any more children because “you’re no good to them”.
“What good are you to them? You should be working, getting money for them, getting things for them, providing some stability and leadership,” she said.
“Pathetic.”
She sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment with immediate release on court-ordered parole, taking into account 197 days of pre-sentence custody.
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Originally published as Daniel Luke Paparone: Jailed Coolangatta man guilty of 30-plus offences
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