Shanay Lee-Ann Kane guilty of string of offences from 21-month crime spree

A young mother of two who started using marijuana and meth at the age of 13 when her parents broke up was involved in 23 offences in 21 months in a drug-fuelled crime spree with her partner.

A Bundaberg mother went on a crime spree including stealing from Bundaberg businesses and rural properties because she had mixed up with the wrong crowd and was bored while on drugs, a Bundaberg court heard.

A Bundaberg mother went on a crime spree, stealing from Bundaberg businesses and rural properties, because she was mixed up with the wrong crowd and bored while on drugs, a Bundaberg court heard.

Shanay Lee-Ann Kane pleaded guilty to a string of offences including break and enter, unlawful possession of weapons, evading police and receiving stolen property in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Monday.

Shanay Lee-Ann Kane went on a crime spree including stealing from Bundaberg businesses and rural properties because she had mixed up with the wrong crowd and was bored while on drugs, a Bundaberg court heard.

The court heard Kane, 24, committed 23 offences through a 21-month period from April 1, 2022 to January 11 this year.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Vicki Kennedy-Grills told the court in June 2022 police conducted a search warrant on a property Kane shared with her partner, co-defendant Jesse Moras, who police will allege had broken into the Bundaberg council chambers and stolen property including laptop computers.

The court was told during the search police found Kane was in possession of one of the stolen laptops, identified by Bundaberg council stickers on its surface.

Ms Kennedy-Grills told the court from March 12 to 26 last year Kane and Mr Moras broke into a number of rural properties and stole items including a trailer and machine tools.

In January, Kane and Mr Moras broke into Riverfeast, a popular Bundaberg function centre, with police alleging Mr Moras stole some items, the court heard.

The court heard Kane had a criminal history including drug supply, for which she was convicted by the Bundaberg Supreme Court on August 16 last year.

Kane’s lawyer, Rian Dwyer, told the court his client had two children aged seven and one years old, and began using drugs including cannabis and methylamphetamine at the age of 13 after her parents separated.

Kane was clean of drug use from 2017 until 2022, in which year her stepmother died of cancer and she saw her father trying to take his own life, which caused her to resume her drug habit, the court heard.

Kane was clean of drug use from 2017 until 2022 when she resumed her drug habit, the court heard.

Mr Dwyer told the court Kane had instructed “she needs to make better choices about the people who she is hanging around,” in particular Mr Moras.

All of Kane’s offending was “because of drugs, or she was on drugs at the time,” Mr Dwyer said, with Kane instructing that she “gets bored and does stupid stuff” when she was using drugs.

Kane had limited work experience, with most of her adult life taken up by being a stay at home mother apart from a short stint working in a fish and chip shop, the court heard.

Mr Dwyer told the court an incident in which Kane stole some items from Target in Bundaberg was done in order to provide Christmas presents for their children.

Taking into account 67 days served in pre-sentence custody, Magistrate John McInnes sentenced Kane to 12 months’ imprisonment with a parole release date of April 11.

Kane was charged with one count each of enter premises and commit indictable offence by break, possess by night instrument of house breaking prior conviction of crime relating to property, offence of driving etc while relevant drug present in blood/saliva, contravene direction or requirement police officer, fraud - dishonestly obtains property from another, receiving tainted property, authority required to possess explosives, drive uninsured vehicle, evasion offence, offence to buy or possess S4 or S8 medicines or hazardous poisons, possess utensils or pipes etc for use, possessing dangerous drugs, vehicles used on roads must be registered, fail to properly dispose of needle and syringe, possession of a knife in a public place, stealing, unlawful possession of weapons category D/H/R weapon, breach of bail and failure to appear in accordance with undertaking.

MORE NEWS: Man in alleged swimming hole assault viral video fronts court

MORE NEWS: Glitz and glamour of the 2024 Dusk Til Dust long table dinner