Mother involved in Airlie Beach backpacker burglary sentenced

The burglary involved a hammer in one hand and knuckle dusters on the other but the judge has called the crime ‘unsophisticated and amateurish’

Vicki-Marie Phillipi was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail after Airlie Beach burglary. Picture: Facebook

A woman has been jailed for her role in a burglary at an Airlie Beach backpackers hostel that involved a hammer and knuckle dusters.

Vicki-Marie Phillipi, 38, pleaded guilty in Mackay District Court to burglary and possessing property suspected of having been used in connection with the commission of a drug offence.

The court heard a woman was staying in Airlie Beach in June last year when Phillipi and another woman entered the room, closing the door behind them.

Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said Chantelle Louise Emslie allegedly threatened the victim with a hammer in one hand and knuckle dusters on the other.

Emslie is yet to enter a plea on charges and her matter will be heard at a later date. Her earlier guilty pleas have been vacated.

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Ms Lawrence said Emslie and Phillipi were reported to be screaming “I want my money”, as the victim sat on the bottom bunk bed crying.

Ms Lawrence said the victim then produced her phone which the pair took.

The court heard the pair jumped in a car and fled the scene but police found them shortly after.

Police found a glass pipe with drug residue in the car with the women when they were arrested in Mandalay on June 7, 2020.

In sentencing Phillipi, Justice Farr considered the accused mother’s recent hardships, including the loss of both her partner and brother in 2019.

He also raised the naivety of the crime.

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“There is no doubt the offending conduct was unsophisticated and amateurish,” he said, noting how quickly police picked them up.

But the severity of the offence was not dismissed.

“You and another went to the room, with the intent of demanding money and making threats at the very least,” Judge Farr said.

Phillipi was sentenced with two years and nine months in jail, with parole in November.

Because Emslie’s guilty pleas were vacated, she will now be arraigned on a future date on the new indictment presented in the court on Friday.

Originally published as Mother involved in Airlie Beach backpacker burglary sentenced