Man wakes to police at his door after 21-year old Timothy Wilson’s “absolutely terrifying” break-in spree

A 21-year-old who said he “quite likes the rush” of offending faced Ipswich Court for a series of “absolutely terrifying” break-ins.

Timothy Wilson, 21, faced Ipswich Magistrate’s Court after a series of break-ins and break-in attempts last year.

On May 24 2022, he pleaded guilty to two counts of entering a dwelling and committing an indictable offence, two counts of attempting to enter a dwelling and committing an indictable offence, two counts of trespassing, one count of obstructing a police officer, one failure to appear in accordance with undertaking, and three vehicle related offences.

The court heard that the break-in offences occurred on October 22 2021, with a co-offender whose matters have yet to appear before the court.

A man said he woke at 2.20am to the sound of someone attempting to break in through the back of his house. He confronted the two men he found attempting to break in and contacted the police shortly after.

Failing at this first attempt, Wilson apparently attempted to break into three more houses on the same street.

Timothy Wilson, 21, who faced Ipswich Magistrate’s Court after a series of break-ins and break-in attempts last year.

One victim woke up around 4am to find the police outside his house. His back door had been unlocked and a window had been opened while he slept.

Another man on the same night reported that he had been asleep in his vehicle and was woken up when someone shined a torch in his face. He saw two men outside his vehicle, before he fell back to sleep.

When he woke up in the morning, he noticed that someone had broken into the back of the house; the fly screens were damaged and the toilet window had been smashed.

“It’s quite clear that the defendant was on a crime spree,” said Senior Constable Bridie O’Shea.

Magistrate Kathleen Payne noted “It’s staggering that men like yourself are lurking around the streets, in company, entering people’s houses.”

The court heard that Wilson’s vehicle offences occurred when he drove an unregistered and uninsured motorcycle without a licence on an occasion where Wilson alleged he believed someone was going to break into a neighbour’s house.

When he saw activity at the neighbour’s house, he drove his motorcycle to the house – only to find the activity was members of the police investigating the matter.

Senior Constable O’Shea noted that this offence marks Wilson’s fourth disqualified driving charge within one year.

The court heard that Wilson was born and raised in Ipswich. He reached Year 9 at Ipswich State High school, after which he enrolled in TAFE and completed a certificate in construction.

Wilson’s defence lawyer Mr Rawnsley said he had lost his mother five years ago, and “went off the rails” with drug use after that.

Wilson recently suffered a difficult break-up with a partner that he has a daughter with; he has since lived with his sister.

Mr Rawnsley further said Wilson had “quite openly and honestly” admitted that “he quite likes the rush of doing that” in regards to his offending.

He said that, at the time of the offences, Wilson would use the money he stole for living expenses and drugs.

However, Mr Rawnsley said Wilson had since had a “shift in his awareness and attitude that he needs to be a lawful and contributing member of society.”

Magistrate Payne noted the seriousness of Wilson’s offending, saying, “People in the community expect to go to bed, lock the doors and wake up in the morning without being disturbed.

“You need to think about the impact that your offending has on other people and how absolutely terrifying your conduct is to normal people in the community.

“People don’t recover very easily from being woken in the night, or knowing that an intruder has been present while they were present in the residency.”

Wilson ultimately received a head sentence of 12 months imprisonment and was made eligible for parole release today.