Robert Antonio Love pleads guilty to Bundaberg break-in

How a criminal responded after being busted with an illicit stash including a balaclava, drugs and stolen tools, spared him from serving actual jail time.

Antonio Robert Love was spared actual jail time when he faced Bundaberg Magistrates Court.

A Bundaberg man who faced court for a brazen break-in of the Bundaberg BMX Club has once again gone before a magistrate - this time for offences committed beforehand.

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Antonio Robert Love represented himself in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced for two incidents, one carried out the day before and one on the day of his BMX club break-in.

The court heard that on November 12, 2022, Love broke into Hutchinson Builders in Bundaberg and stole four lots of tools which belonged to four different people.

His offences a day later included being caught with cannabis, two pipes, two straws and clip-seal bags, bolt cutters, a jemmy bar, a balaclava and a number of tools and items suspected of being tainted property.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Carl Spargo told the court Love had co-operated with police, which had resulted in stolen items being returned to their rightful owners.

“If that hadn’t been the case, you’d probably have to do some actual time...” Magistrate John McInnes told the defendant.

The court heard that Love had managed to “stay clean” since his offending and had returned to work.

Love pleaded guilty to one count of enter premises and commit indictable offence by break, four counts of stealing, one count of possessing by night an instrument of house breaking, one count of possessing property suspected of being used in connection with the commission of a drug offence, one count of possessing tainted property and one count of possessing utensils or pipes for use.

Love also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing dangerous drugs.

He received a head sentence of 18 months’ jail with immediate parole.