Boronia Heights man Ricky James Andrews, 33, sentenced to three years’ jail for property offences

A local Magistrates Court erupted into intense debate prior to a case even been heard after the defendant’s ‘terrible’ criminal history was brought up.

A LOGAN man faced court yesterday charged with 11 drug and property offences, but there was intense debate as to whether the charges could even be heard in that court, as he may have been going to jail for too long.

Boronia Heights man Ricky James Andrews, 33, pleaded guilty to all offences in Beenleigh Magistrates Court today, which included two charges of stealing, two of possessing methylamphetamine, including once in the Beenleigh Police watch house, trespassing in a yard, breaking and entering, receiving tainted property, failing to dispose of a hypodermic needle and performing two fraudulent transactions on a stolen bank card.

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However, before the video link with Andrews was established, there was intense debate between police prosecutor Tim Wise and Magistrate Clare Kelly as to whether the Magistrates Court had jurisdiction to hear the case.

Magistrates are only able to pass a jail sentence of up to three years and it was Mr Wise’s submission that owing to Andrews’ criminal history, which Ms Kelly described as “terrible”, he may be looking at a sentence of up to three-and-a-half years.

Boronia Heights man Ricky James Andrews, 33, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court today to 11 property and drug offences. Picture: Facebook

Ms Kelly disagreed with the approach and the court proceeded to hear the circumstances of the offending and Andrews’ history.

Andrews’ offences were committed between December 3 last year and January 14 this year, when he was arrested.

The court heard his many offences included ripping off and damaging a court-ordered electronic monitoring bracelet (December 3), trespassing on a property at Meadowbrook (January 4), breaking and entering into sheds at Slacks Creek (between December 18 – 23), and stealing from a parked truck and a business at Crestmead, making off with a Samsung tablet (December 3 and 10).

Ordinarily, these offences taken together may result in a short custodial sentence, but the court heard Andrews was a recidivist offender who couldn’t help committing the same type of property offences again and again.

Andrews was sentenced in the District Court to three-and-a-half years jail on October 25, 2018 for 29 offences, many of which were the “exact same” sort of offences before the court yesterday, Mr Wise said.

Meanwhile, the 11 offences today were all committed only about three months after Andrews had been paroled on other matters which included property offences.

The balance of that sentence which Andrews has now exposed himself to is seven years.

Ms Kelly set Andrews’ parole eligibility date at January 14 next year when he will have served 12 months, or one-third of the sentence.

However, it was noted in court that with a history like his, the Parole Board Queensland was unlikely to look favourably on his application until further time had elapsed.