Dalby man, 20, apologises to residents and police for crime spree
A man was left in tears following his dramatic arrest at Dalby Shoppingworld where he fought with police, broke into homes and businesses and stole a long list of ‘bizarre’ items.
Police & Courts
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A man who left a trail of chaos in his wake during a Dalby crime spree that spanned weeks has broken down in tears in court.
Police prosecutor Chris Hutchins told Dalby Magistrates Court the 20-year-old had evaded police the day prior after he was reported as committing a number of property offences and had mounted a woman’s front lawn, ran over her mailbox and into a stationary car.
“He was located in the car park of the Shoppingworld asleep with the keys in the ignition,” Sergeant Hutchins said.
“Police used force to gain entry and he was put in handcuffs.”
Sgt Hutchins told the court Brough-Coates freed himself from the handcuffs and attempted to run away, then kicked officers as he struggled to flee the scene.
Police located a syringe and cone piece in the car after the arrest.
In the lead up to the dramatic arrest, the court heard Brough-Coates was responsible for a spate of break-ins “bizarre” thefts across homes and businesses.
Sgt Hutchins said the crime spree began on October 30 where he broke into someone’s work shed, followed by breaking into multiple rooms of the Dalby Motel, Dalby Golf Club, the Bowls Club, the showgrounds, Bell Caravan Park, the Baptist Church and multiple residential addresses.
Stolen items included food, coffee, milk, power tools, fuel from lawnmowers, alcohol, a speaker, a karaoke machine, barbecue gas bottle, silverware, solar panels and toilet paper.
“These are things that people usually steal to fund a drug habit,” Sgt Hutchins said.
“He was stealing bizarre things, there was no premeditation it was just going in and stealing things that were there.
“It doesn’t seem too well thought out to strap stolen material to the roof of your vehicle.”
On November 24, the court heard the man was spotted sleeping in the car on Healy St in Dalby.
“When police took to him and asked him to unlock the car he drove away with no seat belt,” Sgt Hutchins said.
“Police turned on the sirens and (Brough-Coates) ran a red light onto the Warrego Highway.
“Cars had to take evasive action to avoid a collision.”
Brough-Coates who appeared in court via videolink was seen and heard crying while his offences were read out, and shared his remorse for the damage done and wanted to apologise directly to the police officers he fought with during the arrest.
Defence lawyer Julia Molloy said her client who had experienced significant trauma throughout his adolescence also suffered a number of mental health issues.
She told the court her client was on probation for separate offences when the crime spree began.
“During the first week of probation he missed his first appointment and thought the police were hunting him down,” she said.
“His drug use picked up and he took off thinking he would be taken immediately into jail and was breaking into places to find shelter and selling things for money and drugs.”
Ms Molloy told the court her client had been “deeply moved” by the Wieambilla shootings in December which involved Western Downs police officers and wanted to submit his “sincere remorse”.
She negotiated with police to bring the number of charges down from 68 to 44.
Brough-Coates pleaded guilty to 44 charges which included dangerous operation of a vehicle, trespass, theft, assaulting and obstructing police, evasion, stealing, wilful damage, possessing utensils and a string of vehicle-related offences.
He was sentenced to nine months’ jail, immediately released on parole.
Magistrate Kyna Morice declared the 50 days he had spent in jail as time served and ordered all stolen items to be returned to its owners.
“There’s more of a benefit to you getting out there and getting you supervised rather than leaving you in custody for longer,” she said.
Everybody appearing at Dalby Magistrates Court, Thursday, July 24
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