Callum Zane Marston Smith pleaded guilty to attempted stealing

A court has heard a sad explanation behind why a man made a grab for a cash register at a Maryborough hotel.

Callum Zane Marston Smith pleaded guilty to attempted stealing when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

A man who tried to steal from a cash register at a Maryborough hotel was going through a mental health crisis at the time, a court has heard.

Callum Zane Marston Smith, 36, pleaded guilty to attempted stealing when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The court heard Smith had been a patron at the White Lion Hotel on July 28 about 6.30pm.

When he exited the dining area, Smith went to the drive through section of the bottle shop in a vehicle.

He was in a passenger seat when he got out of the vehicle, the court heard, then going up to the counter of the bottle shop.

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Smith was spoken to by a staff member, who asked if he was all right.

He then turned to the cash register and began to grab at the cash draw, the court was told.

The staff member attempted to pull Smith’s hands away while he continued to pull at it, the court heard.

After the incident, Smith repeatedly told the staff member he was sorry before getting back in the vehicle, which was driven away.

Callum Zane Marston Smith pleaded guilty to attempted stealing when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The incident was captured on CCTV.

Smith had a dated Victorian criminal history and the offending seemed to be out of character, the court was told.

Defence lawyer Morgan Harris said he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had been having an episode during the incident.

He had been on medication for the condition at the time, but was on the wrong dosage, he said.

Smith was now on the correct dosage and was seeing his psychologist weekly as opposed to monthly, Mr Harris said.

He was receiving a disability support pension from Centrelink, he said.

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Magistrate John Milburn said Smith had “attempted blatantly” to steal cash from the hotel.

But he said there was a reduction in his culpability considering he had been treated for mental health issues around the time of the offence.

“Accordingly, I have to take great care in sentencing you in those circumstances,” he said.

Mr Milburn said his mental illness had partly explained Smith’s offending.

Smith was fined $300 and no conviction was recorded.