Jordan Benjamin Bligh sentenced for Gladstone Night Owl break-in

A man with an “appalling” criminal history has been sentenced after he smashed his way into a Gladstone store under the cover of darkness and stole almost $2000 worth of cigarettes and related items.

Jordan Benjamin Bligh, 25, was sentenced in the District Court at Gladstone on February 27, 2023.

About 1.45am, an alarm went off at a closed Gladstone Night Owl store and the owner decided to go there to see what was happening, a court has heard.

The owner looked on his mobile device which showed 25-year-old Jordan Benjamin Bligh inside the store, the court was told.

Bligh had just used a 2.5kg plate to smash the glass front door and gain entry.

Bligh filled grocery bags with packets of cigarettes, lighters, filters and smoke papers worth about $1891.

The store owner called a security company and then drove to his business.

When he got there, he sat in his car at the front of the store and he saw Bligh come out with the items, the court heard.

The owner then got out of his car and approached Bligh.

The Crown said the owner told Bligh: “Oi, they’re my smokes” and Bligh responded: “Sorry, I’m doing this for my family.”

Police attended the scene and used police dogs to track Bligh’s scent for a period of time.

Blood was found on items in the store and after being analysed, it was confirmed to have Bligh’s DNA, the Crown said.

Eventually police spoke to Bligh and he was arrested and charged in relation to the November 25, 2022 incident at the Night Owl store on the Dawson Highway, West Gladstone.

He remained in custody until he appeared in the District Court at Gladstone on February 27, 2023, where he pleaded guilty to one count of breaking and entering premises and stealing.

During Bligh’s sentencing this week, the court heard he had been on parole at the time of his offending.

It was told he had a 10-page criminal history which Judge Craig Chowdhury described as “appalling”.

“Certainly you have a bad history for breaking into property and stealing,” Judge Chowdhury said.

The court heard Bligh had been on suspended sentences previously and those had been activated.

In relation to Bligh’s personal background, the court was told he grew up in a “positive home environment” but during his school years, “fell in with a bad crowd.”

The court heard Bligh stopped going to school in Year 9, started drinking alcohol, smoking cannabis and using methamphetamine, and left home at age 15.

Despite all of those issues, he still had the support of his family.

The court heard that in following years, Bligh suffered mental health problems and was prescribed medication for that.

Defence Barrister Scott Moon said Bligh’s criminal history seemed to be due to three factors - his mental health, drug issues and alcohol issues.

Mr Moon said Bligh now had a daughter and that was a motivating factor for him to change his ways.

“She was one month old prior to him coming into custody,” Mr Moon said.

“He (Bligh) said that... he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life going in and out of custody, and he does understand that’s up to him.”

Judge Chowdhury said people who stole from stores might think these businesses were rich.

“But stores like the Night Owl, which operate for the convenience of the public, late at night, have very thin margins of making any sort of profit out of it,” Judge Chowdhury said.

“And obviously, you know, they’ve got to pay for security cameras, they’ve got to pay for their insurance, and it doesn’t help when an offender like you (Bligh) just smashes into the property, breaking the front window and just stealing stuff.

“It happens far too frequently.”

Judge Chowdhury sentenced Bligh to 18 months’ jail to be served cumulatively on the sentence he is currently serving.

A parole eligibility date was set for August 26, 2023.