William Blake Wright fronts Dalby Magistrates Court for breaching bail days after it was granted

A Dalby man who skipped town for Christmas while on bail without telling police has found himself back before a magistrate.

A Dalby man who hid from police under a blanket has learnt the importance of adhering to bail conditions after he was sentenced.

William Blake Wright, 25 appeared in the Dalby Magistrates Court via AVL from the watch-house pleading guilty to four counts of breaching bail.

The court on Tuesday was told Wright was placed on bail on December 20, 2024, with a condition that required regular check-ins at the Dalby police station and an order not to stay anywhere but his Dalby residence.

Despite the order being made just days prior Wright decided to leave Dalby and travel to Roma for several days to see his family over Christmas without letting police know.

Throughout this period police attended the Dalby property three times in search of Wright, but he was nowhere to be found.

Magistrate Kathleen Payne questioned Wright’s decision to not adhere to his bail conditions with him saying he couldn't call police to tell them where he was because he didn't have a phone and he couldn't afford to get back to Dalby as his Centrelink payments hadn't come through and he didn't have enough money for a bus.

Wright's lawyer said his client had made significant efforts to get back to Dalby walking all the way from Roma to Chinchilla, a two-day journey in which he slept overnight on the side of the road before catching a bus from there.

When Wright arrived back in Dalby on December 25 police again attended his property, this time finding him hiding under a blanket before he was ultimately arrested.

Police prosecutor Chris Hutchins said Wright had a single-page criminal history and six of his seven offences were breaches of bail.

“Ninety-nine per cent of your offending are bail breaches, from this point forward the court won't take anymore excuses, we take this seriously,” he said.

Ms Payne questioned Wright’s claims of not having a phone as well as his attempt to hide from police.

“If you don’t have a phone of your own you could have borrowed one from your family,” she said.

For his offending Wright was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and was immediately released from custody. No conviction was recorded.