Brett Ingliss Bayldon in court for fraud, enter premises

A court heard a man who worked as a tradie in Bundaberg for five years was in a bad place when he snuck into a ute and nabbed a wallet. He has plans to make a new life in his Gympie hometown.

Brett Ingliss Bayldon. Photo: File

A man who took the opportunity to steal a wallet and take it on an alcohol and tobacco spending spree has been lucky to avoid Christmas in jail.

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Brett Ingliss Bayldon, 31, pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Thursday to attempted fraud, six counts of fraud and two counts of entering a premises and committing an indictable offence.

Bayldon appeared via videolink from the Maryborough Correctional Centre.

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The court heard that on the afternoon of April 8, Bayldon grabbed a wallet from the centre console of a ute parked in a Bundaberg industrial estate.

Over the next few days, he racked up hundreds of dollars on bank and credit cards found in the wallet, spending it on cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol.

The victim realised his wallet was missing on April 11, and reported it to police who identified Bayldon from CCTV.

His lawyer, Lavonda Maloy, told the court her client had been feeling down at the time and had been upset in the wake of a relationship breakdown.

He’d worked for a Bundaberg construction company for five years before losing his job due to his offending.

Bayldon wrote a letter to the court in which he expressed his remorse and offered to pay money back to his victim.

In sentencing, Magistrate Edwina Rowan termed Bayldon’s offending as “unsophisticated” given it was in full view of CCTV cameras.

It was heard Bayldon, who grew up in Gympie, had already relocated to his hometown from Bundaberg when the law caught up with him.

Ms Maloy said Bayldon, who has a criminal history including dishonesty offences, will return to Gympie following his release from prison to take up work as an auto wrecker.

Ms Rowan sentenced him to a head sentence of one months’ jail, suspended for six months.

She took into account, but did not declare, 133 days of pre-sentence custody.

Bayldon must repay his victim $476.35 restitution, referred to SPER.