Brad Leslie Stockdale convicted of stealing

An aged care worker who tried to buy an expensive Bunnings plant for a much cheaper price failed to make it past the self serve checkout.

Brad Leslie Stockdale pleaded guilty to one count of stealing and one count of driving without a licence when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court this week.

Swapping the price tags on an expensive plant at Bunnings landed a Fraser Coast man in hot water.

Brad Leslie Stockdale pleaded guilty to one count of stealing and one count of driving without a licence when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court this week.

The court was told Stockdale had entered Hervey Bay’s Bunnings outlet about 12noon on April 8, 2023, with a woman.

The pair went to the gardening section and the woman selected a plant, which had a price tag of $295.

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The price tag was removed and replaced with another price tag of $46.98, the court heard.

Stockdale and the woman went to the self checkout and tried to buy the plant, but were stopped and the plant retrieved, before they both left the store.

The offence was captured on CCTV.

No restitution was sought as the plant was recovered, the court was told.

The court heard that in a separate incident, Stockdale was stopped by police while driving as his licence had been SPER suspended.

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He told police at the time he was unaware his licence had been suspended.

The court heard the suspension was lifted two days after he was stopped.

Stockdale asked that a criminal conviction not be recorded as he worked at an aged care facility.

He was fined $550 for stealing and no conviction was recorded and fined another $150 for driving without a licence, with a conviction recorded for that offence.