Cocaine to credit cards: How CCTV is catching CQ offenders

One after another, people are being busted because the law enforcement version of Big Brother is watching them now more than ever before.

Crimes are regularly getting caught on camera and bringing offenders unstuck.

From nightclub cocaine busts to stolen credit cards, car scratching to after-hours office shenanigans - hidden cameras are catching people from Central Queensland’s in the act.

CCTV footage has helped police convict countless people in the region this year, and it’s perhaps surprising that some are slow to take the tip that the law enforcement version of Big Brother is watching now more than ever before.

Acting Magistrate Athol Kennedy reinforced this message in Yeppoon Magistrates Court last month before he sentenced Queensland Country rugby union star Author Valentine, 27, for bankcard fraud offences.

Valentine found another person’s card in the smoker’s area of The Strand Hotel and then used it to make a number of transactions.

Before handing down penalty, Mr Kennedy told Valentine that CCTV cameras were at every pub, shop and club.

“So when you picked up that card, that was on the CCTV camera - they knew it was you, straight away,” Mr Kennedy said.

“And then when you went to various places, CCTV got you.

“Silly, so you run the risk today for $126.19, you run the risk today of being sent back to Fiji (deported).

“Do you understand that?

“For next to nothing, you run the serious risk of going back to Fiji.”

COCAINE AT THE CLUBS

In February this year, Tyson Wagner Gilliland, 18, was caught with cocaine at popular nightspot The Goat in Rockhampton.

Police have used CCTV footage to identify people with drugs at Rockhampton nightclubs.

Shortly after midnight, Gilliland opened his wallet to pay for a door (entry) charge when a bag fell from it.

A staff member notified police and CCTV footage implicated Gilliland. He faced court the following month.
Dane Douglas Langton, 24, also pleaded guilty after he was caught with cocaine at Rockhampton‘s Zodiac Nightclub on January 30.

Both pleaded guilty to cocaine possession.

Gilliland had no criminal history and was fined $75 with no conviction recorded.

Langton, who had a “very limited history” with nothing of a similar nature, was fined $800 with no conviction recorded.

AFTER-HOURS OFFICE SHENANIGANS

In May, a cleaner working at a Gracemere business after office hours was caught on security cameras stealing a staff member’s mobile phone.

On May 27, between 6pm and 10pm, Linda Joy Wehlow, 60, was working for a company contracted to clean the Toll building at Gracemere.

During her shift, Wehlow saw a Samsung mobile phone on an employee’s desk.

The phone was connected to a phone charger which had a “test and tag” label on it.

Security camera footage showed Wehlow going about her job as usual, but when she left the building, the phone charger cord could be seen hanging out of her pocket.

On June 10, police searched Wehlow’s residence and found the stolen mobile phone, which had a distinguishing case, and charger. She faced court in July where she pleaded guilty to theft.

Wehlow was fined $700 and a conviction was recorded.

A 2016 aerial shot of the Capricorn Resort at Yeppoon, taken shortly after its closure.

IWASAKI RESORT ‘STICKYBEAK’ LANDS MAN IN COURT

Although it has been closed to the public for years, CCTV security cameras still operate at the former Iwasaki/Capricorn Resort at Yeppoon.

On the night of January 24, Michael Jordan Joos, 20, gained access to a gym there and had a workout.

Joos and another man were seen on CCTV footage and the former faced court in March where he pleaded guilty to gaining unlawful entry to a business.

He was fined $300 with no conviction recorded.

SECRET CRIMES OF A CAR SCRATCHER

A truly bizarre case of a grandmother who was caught on CCTV cameras committing car scratching crimes played out before a Yeppoon court last month.

Carol Ann Tidswell, 74, was caught on CCTV footage scratching random vehicles at Yeppoon.

One of the cars, a Mitsubishi Pajero, was parked in the car park at Keppel Bay Sailing Club.

The other vehicle, a 2020 model HiLux ute belonging to a business, was parked at an underground car park at Yeppoon Central Shopping Centre when Tidswell struck.

Tidwell pleaded guilty to two counts of wilful damage. She was placed on 12 months’ probation and ordered to pay $1562 restitution.

PIZZA SHOP BLOW-UP

In May, Taylor James Robinson, 28, and a woman entered Domino’s Pizza Yeppoon to collect an order.

A staff member retrieved the order from the hot box and handed it to Robinson.

Robinson and the woman opened their pizzas to inspect them and Robinson became visibly angry and aggressive and started shouting at staff members.

Robinson slammed one of the pizzas on the counter and punched it, while continuing to yell and scream.

This caused fear to staff members who were working at the time, and also to another female witness.

Staff asked Robinson to leave the store but he refused.

Robinson continued yelling and screaming and he stated the staff were “useless”.

Staff then tried to take the pizzas back from Robinson but he threw them on the ground and at a window before storming out of the store.

The incident was captured on CCTV footage. Robinson faced court in September and pleaded guilty to a public nuisance charge.

Magistrate Athol Kennedy placed Robinson on a five-month good behaviour order with a $300 recognisance. No conviction was recorded.

CCTV IDENTIFIES MAN WHO SCARED WOMEN AT SERVO

Police used CCTV footage to catch a man who intimidated and scared two young women at a Biloela service station in the early hours of the morning.

Jeffrey John Fagg, 32, pleaded guilty in Biloela Magistrates Court on August 11 to a public nuisance charge which stemmed from an incident in June.

Fagg was ordered to perform 60 hours of unpaid community service and a conviction was recorded.