Busted at Bunnings: Men and women caught stealing
Across the Wide Bay, Bunnings’ stores have been a popular target for thieves who have pinched or tried to pinch thousands of dollars' worth of plants, machinery, tools and accessories. Here are some of those who were caught red handed:
Police & Courts
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For thousands of people across Queensland, Bunnings is the place to snag a bargain and have a browse on the weekend.
But not everyone who shops at Bunnings does the right thing, including these men and women from across the Wide Bay who tried to get out of paying and got caught.
Emma Louise Josh
A Fraser Coast hairdresser who had never been in trouble with the law found herself before court after she took a chainsaw into a toilet at Bunnings and tried to steal the battery.
Emma Louise Josh pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court to a series of offences including fraud, stealing, possessing dangerous drugs and possessing drug utensils.
The court heard the mother of two had pawned battery chargers at Maryborough Loans and Trading for $30.
Police prosecutor Sonia Edwards said the items were tainted and Josh was not the owner.
In a later incident Josh visited Bunnings at North Lakes where the chainsaw incident occurred.
She paid for a leaf blower but did not disclose taking the chainsaw battery until confronted by staff.
She had failed to appear in court previously but told police she was “out of sorts” and had forgotten the date.
She was also caught with .1g of meth and utensils.
Josh was placed on nine months’ probation and no convictions were recorded.
Brad Leslie Stockdale
Swapping the price tags on an expensive plant at Bunnings landed a Fraser Coast man in hot water.
Brad Leslie Stockdale pleaded guilty to stealing and driving without a licence when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court.
The court was told Stockdale 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.
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.
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.
Bradley Ross Adam
After buying a generator from Bunnings, a Hervey Bay man returned to the store twice to steal two more using the receipt.
Bradley Ross Adam pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing when he appeared before Hervey Bay Magistrates Court.
The court heard he had purchased a generator and taken his car around to the back entry of the business to collect it.
He then returned to the store and used the receipt from the first generator to take another one.
Adam then repeated that, stealing another generator which he claimed to have purchased.
The generators cost $999 each, the court was told.
CCTV footage uncovered the offending.
During proceedings, the court heard the generators had been returned to the store unopened, but restitution was sought for both items.
Magistrate Stephen Guttridge said it would need to be determined whether the items had been returned before he could made a decision regarding restitution.
Adam was later fined $500 and no conviction was recorded.
Kenneth Bryan Mcmillan
A university graduate who specialised in computers was busted stealing USB accessories from Bunnings.
Kenneth Bryan Mcmillan pleaded guilty to stealing when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court.
The court heard Mcmillan stole a number of items from Bunnings, including a USB audio adaptor and a USB cable, with a total value of $81.86.
When spoken to by police, Mcmillan was “cooperative” and made full admissions, the court heard.
The items were returned to Bunnings.
Magistrate John Milburn said Mcmillan had been apprehended with the items, which had been returned.
He said he had “loitered for a while”, before going to the parts and accessories shelf, selecting four items and removing them from their packaging and concealing them, Mr Milburn said.
Mcmillan did not attempt to pay and drove away.
Police interviewed him in relation to the matters after he was apprehended, Mr Milburn said.
He said the cost associated with theft was included as part of the expense items for businesses, which meant the rest of the community paid for it.
Mcmillan was fined $800 and his suspended sentences were extended by two months.
A conviction was recorded.
Tegan Maree Plover
A Gympie mum was placed on probation after she stole Bunnings items worth more than $200 and drove over the limit, while on her P-plates.
Mother of four, Tegan Maree Plover, was caught stealing six different items totalling $222.90 at Bunnings in Underwood.
Police prosecutor Melissa Campbell said Plover put the items in her handbag before leaving without paying.
“Police intercepted the defendant in the carpark and she immediately stated she had items in her bag,” Sergeant Campbell said.
Among the items was a $99.98 drill set, a lock cutting kit valued at $29.98 and an engraving kit worth $29.98.
“Police observed Facebook messages on the defendant’s phone with a male person. In these messages the defendant told him she was going to Bunnings and asked what he wanted,” Sgt Campbell said.
Plover told police she knew it was wrong, and her solicitor Chris Anderson said she had stolen the items because she was struggling financially.
Plover was placed on probation for 12 months.
Convictions were recorded.
Rebecca Ann Munro
A woman defrauded a would-be buyer through Facebook Marketplace and brazenly stole nearly $2000 of goods from Bunnings she intended to sell on the same platform.
Rebecca Ann Munro pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Magistrates Court to two charges of stealing and one of fraud.
Police prosecutor Carl Spargo told the court Munro had advertised a television for sale on Facebook Marketplace in November 2021, and after the victim made contact to express interest in buying it, arrangements were made for her to transfer the funds to Munro’s account before collecting the item at Hinkler Central.
Munro did not attend at the arranged date and time, following which the victim made numerous attempts to contact her to arrange collection of the television or to have the money returned.
When the contact ceased several months later, the victim reported the incident to police including providing screenshots of her Facebook Marketplace conversations with Munro.
In June 2023, the court heard Munro drove her car into the timberyard at Bundaberg Bunnings around 1pm, entered the store and proceeded to load several power tools into a trolley including a Ryobi Chainsaw, Ryobi Leaf Blower an Inverter Generator and three pairs of earmuffs.
While considering imprisonment as in range due to the persistent nature of the offending, Ms Rowan sentenced Munro to one month imprisonment wholly suspended for three months, with 80 hours of community service to be completed in the next 12 months.
Munro was ordered to pay $150 as restitution to the victim defrauded through the sale of the television and $1995 restitution to Bunnings.
Convictions were recorded.
Matthew Charles Crane
A man brazenly walked out of Bunnings with goods worth nearly $500 that he hadn’t paid for by telling the receipt checker “my hands are full”, a Bundaberg court heard.
Matthew Charles Crane pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Magistrates Court to multiple charges relating to a crime spree carried out over four months involving stealing from Bundaberg businesses and breaking into a construction site and storage units.
The court heard on one occasion Crane walked out of Bunnings carrying a vacuum cleaner, a 20-litre can of paint, an Esky and a toilet seat.
When challenged by the receipt checker to prove he had purchased the items, Crane told him “my hands are full”.
A Bunnings staff member followed Crane to his car and noted his licence plate before he drove away with the goods.
A week later, Crane filled up a trolley in Big W Bundaberg and walked out without paying for the goods.
The court heard CCTV footage showed him leaving the store, although the goods stolen were not identified.
The following month Crane broke into the Total Tools store in Bundaberg by smashing the glass front door with a hammer.
He stole a Milwaukee Combo Kit tool set and a two-wheel trolley from the store with total value of $3450.
On the final occasion, Crane broke into a construction site and siphoned off an unknown quantity of diesel fuel from a storage tank.
Magistrate John McInnes sentenced Crane to 16 months jail with 2.5 months parole.
With time served in pre-sentence custody Crane will be released in one week.
Crane was ordered to pay $4167.83 in compensation to businesses including Bunnings and Total Tools.
He was convicted of four counts of stealing after previous conviction, three counts of breach of bail condition, two counts of receiving tainted property, three counts of enter premises and commit indictable offence and one count each of possess property suspected of having been used in connection with the commission of a drug offence, receiving tainted property, stealing of a vehicle and offence of driving etc. while relevant drug is present in blood or saliva.
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