‘Traumatic’: Burglar cuts power, hides in furniture

A man realised his power had been cut by a burglar when he tried to turn on lights after hearing someone in his house.

Jai William Heard pleaded guilty to the unlawful entry of a vehicle, and entering a premises and committing an indictable offence.

A MAN realised his power had been cut by a burglar when he tried to turn on lights after hearing someone in his house.

Jai William Heard, 28, had broken into the Tewantin home about midnight on June 8 to try and steal a Hyundai Getz and a whipper snipper.

Heard, from Tewantin, was found by police trying to hide, with the whipper snipper nearby.

“They believe he was trying to avoid detection, he was hiding in furniture,” police prosecutor Allison Johnstone said.

“So that would have been a concerning incident for the victims there, in their home, to hear those noises in the middle of the night.”

Heard was arrested but refused to take part in an interview at the time.

Later, on June 28, Heard concealed a bottle of whiskey in his pants and walked out of a Dan Murphy’s without paying.

On July 20 he took another two bottles of liquor from a Dan Murphy’s without paying, concealing them under his jumper.

Defence lawyer Bernard Bradley said Heard had minimal criminal history in the past four years as he had gotten his life in order and addressed his drug use.

A car accident two years ago meant he was unable to work as a carpenter.

Mr Bradley said Heard still struggled with a drinking problem and was booked in to see a psychologist next week.

At Noosa Magistrates Court today Heard pleaded guilty to nine charges including entering a premises and committing an indictable offence and unlawful entry of a vehicle.

He had a previous offence of unlawfully entering a vehicle in 2009 and was given a community service order which he breached.

“One just has to wonder if you look at yourself in the mirror and think ‘have I really got to the bottom of the barrel where I just have no respect for myself, much less other members of the community? Have I absolutely no respect for myself that I’m prepared to become this common thief in the night with no regard to people’,” Magistrate Maxine Baldwin said.

“I mean cutting off the power of those people would have been very traumatic.

“For them to find their power was cut off and that there was somebody down trying to rob them would’ve been really, really awful.”

Ms Baldwin said there was a need for general deterrence and people in the community deserved to feel safe in their homes.

For stealing the liquor, Heard was fined $100 for each offence and ordered to pay restitution.

For the unlawful use of a vehicle he was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and for entering a premises he was given five months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

For separate domestic violence offences, Heard was ordered to serve four months of a 12 month prison sentence and taken into custody.

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