Ashley Himstedt sentenced for meth-fuelled Gladstone crime spree

A young burglar stole $20,000 worth of jewellery, and cars – one of which he filled with the wrong type of fuel, causing $10k in damage – in his latest senseless spree.

Ashley Edward Himstedt was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court for what the prosecution described as a crime spree.

A man has been sentenced for his Gladstone crime spree which included the theft of $20,000 worth of jewellery, as well as cars.

Ashley Edward Himstedt, 21, appeared in custody in Gladstone Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of stealing, enter dwelling and commit, and unlawful use of motor vehicles.

The court heard that Himstedt entered homes and stole people’s property, and he also stole cars over two nights in August in what police prosecutor Kelvin Boyd described as “a crime spree.”

Himstead was on parole when he committed these crimes.

The court was told Himstedt stole $20,000 worth of jewellery from one of the homes he got into, as well as other items.

It heard that during one of his car thefts, he put the wrong type of fuel in the vehicle, causing it to stop.

The repair bill to get that car fixed was $10,000.

Ashley Edward Himstedt.

The court was told that Himstedt had also “cut” a baby seat out of a vehicle he stole, and removed a GPS from one of them which caused damage.

Himstedt had a six-page criminal history which included previous offences of car stealing and entering premises and commit indictable offence.

Solicitor Bianca Wieland said Himstedt was using drugs at the time of his latest crimes.

She said he had been a drug user since the age of 11, and he’d used methamphetamine since he was 13.

Ms Wieland said Himstedt had done things to make himself more employable including completing certificates in engineering and personal training.

She said he wanted to attend drug rehabilitation after being released from custody.

During sentencing, Magistrate Mary Buchanan told Himstead: “People should be able to feel safe in their homes without worrying about you breaking in – they also should be able to leave their cars in their driveways and expect them to be there the next day.”

Ms Buchanan sentenced Himstedt to 20 months’ jail, declared 146 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole eligibility at February 22, 2025.