Philip Rollond should be spared prison for stealing farm machinery because of his testimony in the murder trial of Darren Lorke, court hears

A thief who received hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen machinery should be spared jail because he was a key witness in a high-profile murder case, a court has heard.

Philip John Rollond outside court in 2016.

Editor’s note: After being found guilty in the District Court, Mr Rolland successfully appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court in November 2020. He was acquitted of one charge and a retrial was ordered for the remainder. Prosecutors subsequently dropped all remaining charges. Read the full story here.

 

A serial thief who received hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen machinery should be spared prison because his role as prosecution witness in a murder trial will put him at risk behind bars, a court has heard.

Philip Rollond was found guilty of seven theft charges following a trial in the District Court. He has launched an appeal of the guilty verdict and in court on Tuesday his lawyer said there were fears for his client’s safety in prison following his role in the murder trial of Darren Geoffrey Lorke.

Lorke was found guilty of the murder of his neighbour Kevin Skeyhill at his Tungkillo home during a dispute about fencelines in September 2017.

He was later sentenced to life in prison with a 20-year non-parole period.

During a hearing before District Court Judge Stephen McEwen, prosecutor Michael Foundas said Rollond had been found guilty of receiving at least $370,000 worth of stolen machinery over a seven-year period.

Darren Lorke outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court in June 2018. Picture: AAP / Brenton Edwards)

The stolen items included a forklift, front-end loader and several semi-trailers, all of which were stolen between 2008 and 2015.

The items were found in Rollond’s possession during a series of police raids in early 2016.

A year after he was charged with the thefts, Rollond witnessed the murder of his friend and employee Skeyhill.

Rollond had been drinking with Skeyhill in the hours before the murder.

When the pair arrived at Skeyhill’s Tungkillo property the 51-year-old approached Lorke who was in his backyard and asked him what he was doing on the property.

In the ensuing struggle Skeyhill was fatally stabbed.

Rollond, who did not witness the stabbing itself, arrived on the scene minutes later to Lorke standing over Skeyhill holding a knife.

Philip John Rollond outside court in 2016.

Rollond told the court during Lorke’s murder trial that he had punched the man before calling emergency services.

He later left to pick up his wife, who was a registered nurse to bring her back to the property.

During the trial Rollond’s evidence was crucial to the prosecution case and was accepted by the jury in its guilty verdict.

On Tuesday, Scott Henchcliffe QC acting for Rollond, said his client had put himself at risk when he gave evidence.

“In my submissions, Mr Rollond was an essential prosecution witness,” he said.

“If he is incarcerated he may have put himself at more risk because he gave evidence against another person who is in the system and was convicted for murder.

“My submission is that that is a mitigating factor to penalty.”