Alana Maree Parks sentenced for Gladstone pokies room theft

When a woman saw a wallet containing $700 cash on a vacant chair in a Central Queensland hotel gaming room, she couldn’t resist - but security cameras were watching.

Alana Maree Parks was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court for a pokies room theft at Young Australian Hotel. Generic image.

A Central Queensland woman who stole a wallet in a brazen pokies room theft, has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Alana Maree Parks, 43, pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court to stealing.

The court heard that on the afternoon of July 23, Parks attended the gaming room at Gladstone’s Young Australian Hotel.

Police prosecutor Kelvin Boyd said Parks walked to a vacant chair which had a wallet on it, picked up the wallet and put it in her handbag.

Mr Boyd said the wallet contained $700 cash and cards.

The prosecutor said the incident was captured on CCTV footage.

Mr Boyd said Parks, during questioning later, told police she took $160 cash from the wallet and spent it.

Gladstone Courthouse.

The court heard Parks returned the wallet to police.

Parks had a four-page criminal history, which included previous dishonesty and fraud offending, and she was on a suspended sentence for similar offending at the time of committing this offence.

Representing herself in court, Parks said there was no excuse for taking the wallet but she was in a bad situation at the time.

She told Magistrate Mary Buchanan that she now had employment and permanent housing.

Ms Buchanan activated the suspended sentence and sentenced Parks to eight months’ jail, fixing immediate parole release.

Convictions were recorded.