William Thelan sentenced for Ampol Yeppoon shoplifting

A man in a customer queue at a service station used sneaky tactics to pull off a cigarettes theft but it came back to bite him after he was caught.

William Robert Thelan was sentenced in Yeppoon Magistrates Court.

Details of how a man in a customer queue at a service station pulled off a sneaky cigarettes theft have been heard by a court.

William Robert Thelan, 30, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to shoplifting.

The court heard that on May 24, Thelan attended Ampol Yeppoon and joined a line of customers inside.

He purchased some food and an energy drink and while doing so, another customer at a till next to him tried to purchase Winfield Gold cigarettes worth $51.99.

The other customer’s card declined and they stepped away.

The court heard Thelan then reached over while staff were distracted, grabbed the cigarettes, put them in his back pocket and left without making any attempt to pay for them.

The prosecution said when police questioned Thelan, he told them he was “quite intoxicated” on the day of the offence.

William Robert Thelan.

The prosecution did not seek restitution.

The court heard Thelan had a previous stealing offence on his criminal history in 2022 for which he received probation.

Solicitor Oscar Millroy said Thelan was currently unemployed.

“He says he’s sorry that he did it (stole),” Mr Millroy said.

“He wishes that he did pay for it - he’s willing to repay them.”

Mr Millroy said Thelan was about to enter a Lives Lived Well program for his issues with alcohol and prescription medicine.

Prior to sentencing, Magistrate Philippa Beckinsale had some advice for Thelan.

“Looking at your history and what I’ve heard, you’ve got a problem with probably drugs and alcohol,” she said.

“You really need to work out what your priorities are.”

Ms Beckinsale fined Thelan $150 and a conviction was recorded.