Toowoomba dad in court for trespassing, stealing, possessing drugs

A Toowoomba dad desperate for a roof over his and his child’s head has been brought before the Gympie court after he was found squatting in a house he thought was abandoned. Read what was said.

A 41-year-old Toowoomba dad caught squatting in a Cooloola Cove house with his three-year-old child has fronted court.

The man pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court on Monday to stealing two solar panels from a Cooloola Cove home, trespassing, possessing marijuana and possessing a bong and scissors.

He did not have legal representation.

The court heard the man, who was homeless at the time, was squatting with his child at a Cooloola Cove house he believed was abandoned when he was caught by the owner’s brother-in-law moving furniture into the home on December 15, 2021.

The 41-year-old man pleaded guilty to a string of charges including trespassing and stealing. Photo: Facebook

The owner’s brother-in-law noticed the back door to the house was open, and soon found the man and the child in one of the bedrooms.

The man fled the scene with the child, but left a number of items behind, including a children’s book with the child’s name inscribed on the inside.

A station wagon was later found by police parked in grass off the Tin Can Bay Esplanade with the man and the child inside.

Marijuana, a pair of scissors and a bong was also found inside the car.

Earlier, the man had stolen two small portable solar panels from a Cooloola Cove woman he knew between November 26 and December 1, 2021.

She had previously paid him $50 to do yard work for her and was away on holidays when the panels were stolen from her backyard.

A neighbour told the woman they saw him enter her backyard with his push bike while the woman was away.

Gympie Magistrates Court.

Police found the stolen solar panels in the back of the man’s car, again parked in grass off the Tin Can Bay Esplanade with the man in the front seat.

He told the court he was planning to turn his life around, and he and his partner were getting back together.

“I’m done with (squatting),” he said.

He was fined $1500 for the offences and ordered to pay $80 compensation for the stolen solar panels.

A conviction was recorded.