Cohen Jason Arthur Beggs slammed for stealing from Wondai SES group

A South Burnett man has been slammed by a magistrate after he drunkenly broke into a local SES shed and stole thousands of dollars of equipment and a car during the January floods crisis.

While heroic members of the community were pulling on high-vis to battle a flood crisis that hit the region, one drunk 22-year-old decided to make a quick buck by stealing vital equipment from emergency crews.

Cohn Jason Beggs was heavily intoxicated when he bumped into two men in Murgon who offered him a way to make quick money - break into the Wondai SES shed.

Just before midnight on January 7, Beggs and his co-accused broke into the shed and made off with a LandCruiser and thousands of dollars worth of chainsaws and other equipment.

Not satisfied with the initial bounty, they later returning and took a generator and floodlights.

The crime happened as the January flood crisis struck the region and crews desperately need the equipment to help affected residents.

The break-in was less than fool proof, with police quickly catching up with the perpetrators.

Beggs pleaded guilty in Murgon Magistrates Court to entering a premises and committing an indictable offence by break.

Lawyer Leanne McIntosh said the 22-year-old couldn’t explain why he got involved in the crime, adding it was out of character.

“He’s described as the biggest regret in his life being involved with this because he doesn’t do this kind of thing,” she said.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair slammed Beggs’s offending, noting that a drunk Beggs was still able to make multiple trips with his co-accused to retrieve the items.

“You stole for money. This is the equipment that your community will use in an emergency to help other members of your community,” he said.

“The concept of stealing from the State Emergency Services is as bad as it gets.”

Beggs was sentenced to 12 months in jail, which was wholly suspended for three years.