Toowoomba man Damon Robert McGrath pleads guilty to stealing car, $2560 from former boss, crashing while on meth

The DNA of a former tradesman, who stole thousands in equipment from his boss, was found at the scene of a stolen car crash. Here’s why he walked free from court.

At Toowoomba Magistrates Court on 13/11/23, Toowoomba father Damon Robert McGrath pleaded guilty to crashing a stolen car and stealing from a former employer while high on meth.

A court was told a Toowoomba man’s methylamphetamine addiction was the reason for the loss of his family, home, and job - as well as his recent crime spree.

Damon Robert McGrath fronted Toowoomba Magistrates Court on November 13, and pleaded guilty to a raft of crimes he committed over a 10 month period.

Police prosecutor Anita Page said forensics linked McGrath to a break-and-enter at his former workplace at Oakey in September, and a stolen car crash from December 2022.

Ms Page said McGrath left his fingerprints on a glass window of the workplace when he broke into the building, however he originally denied breaking into the workshop and stealing $2560 of equipment from the steel manufacturing company.

At the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on 13/11/23, Toowoomba father Damon Robert McGrath pleaded guilty to crashing a stolen car and stealing from a former employer while high on meth.

In regards to the stolen car crash, Ms Page said a ute had been stolen from a paddock at Vale View, and was found crashed into the fence of a Darling Heights property with significant damage and McGrath’s blood in the driver’s seat.

She said police believed drugs played a significant role in the crash and noted McGrath fled from the scene.

The court was told on another occasion McGrath was pulled over by Toowoomba police who soon realised McGrath’s licence was disqualified, and a roadside drug test revealed meth and cannabis in his system.

Ms Page said after that incident, police again attempted to pull McGrath over, however he fled and later failed to fill out a police statutory declaration to state who was the driver at the time.

Solicitor Michael Corbin said the father of five stopped working in September 2022 soon after his drug use escalated, which McGrath ‘admitted’ led to the loss of his job, house, and family.

Mr Corbin said McGrath was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis and schizophrenia, which he received depot injections for, as well as other medication.

Meth user Damon McGrath sentenced for stealing a car, stealing $2560 from his former boss, crashing a car, and continuing to drive with drugs in his system and no license.

Magistrate Kay Philipson told McGrath crashing a stolen car while on drugs was a serious offence and he was lucky no one was seriously injured.

Ms Philipson told him to take responsibility for his actions and work at getting his life “back on track”.

She sentenced McGrath to an 18-month probation order with drug testing and counselling conditions and warned him, if he continued to commit crimes he would find himself serving time.

At Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday, November 13, McGrath pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a car, driving on drugs, not having proper control of a car, failing to remain at the scene of a crash, possessing drugs, driving unlicensed, and breaking into a business and committing a crime.

McGrath’s licence was disqualified until June 2027.

Originally published as Toowoomba man Damon Robert McGrath pleads guilty to stealing car, $2560 from former boss, crashing while on meth