‘Covid made me do it’: How Covid led to crime across Greater Brisbane
Offenders have revealed how Covid-related unemployment, border closures and existential crises led them down a dark path.
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been far reaching, with lockdowns, border closures and industry changes plunging many into a life of uncertainty and, in some cases, crime.
These are the lesser-known stories of those who lost their livelihoods, their homes or access to their loved ones, then ended up on a downward spiral to court.
CONVICTION RECORDED
JASON DEVLIN
A Sunshine Coast fitness instructor went on a downward spiral into drug dealing via gay hook-up application Grindr when he lost his job during the Covid lockdowns, a court heard.
Sippy Downs man Jason Devlin, 41, was arrested on April 30 last year after a police raid at his address uncovered a cornucopia of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
In Brisbane Supreme Court Devlin pleaded guilty to nine counts of supplying a dangerous drug and one count each of possessing a Schedule 1 dangerous drug, a dangerous drug, a controlled drug, a restricted drug, among other minor drug charges.
He also pleaded guilty to refusing police access to his mobile phone.
The court heard the search warrant uncovered in Devlin’s bedroom 6.08g of MDMA with a 70 per cent purity; 71g of cannabis; digital scales; a glass pipe; a tablet of Lyrica (pregabalin); and a number of alprazolam tablets.
Subsequent investigations revealed Devlin supplied 28 capsules of MDMA, 1g of MDMA rocks, and about an ounce of cannabis to a man who initially contacted him on Grindr and the man’s friends.
These drug supplies occurred over a five-week period from February 29 last year.
The Crown accepted there was a mixed commercial-personal purpose to Devlin’s drug possession.
Defence counsel Jessica Horne told the court his client had a good work history in the fitness, retail and insurance industries.
He was working for Youi insurance at the time of his arrest, she said, and was working as a group fitness instructor up until the COVID-19 pandemic.
The loss of this job caused him to “spiral” and “get in over his head”, Ms Horne said.
Devlin first became involved in drugs from a young age, beginning on Rohypnol (benzodiazepine), cannabis and speed.
He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment with court-ordered parole after time served, a period of 342 days.
JAMES FREDERICK MALONE
A Logan mobile mechanic lost his car, his business and his freedom in the wake of the Covid lockdowns, a court head.
James Frederick Malone, 33, pleaded guilty to nine charges at the Beenleigh Magistrates Court, including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, contravening police direction and driving while under the influence of methamphetamine and gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
The court heard the father-of-two was a successful business owner with a clean criminal record when Covid hit Queensland, plunging the state into total lockdown and wreaking havoc on his bottom line.
“(Malone’s) business was devastated,” said defence counsel James Wallace of Wallace O’Hagan Lawyers.
“It hit him very hard, physically, mentally and emotionally.
The court heard Malone, who had occasionally and recreationally used both cannabis and methamphetamine in the past, quickly became a full-blown addict.
In the grips of addiction, Malone began to make “incredibly stupid decisions”, the worst of which involved using his work van as a getaway car for some “associates” who were mixed up in stealing cars.
On October 8, Malone was tracked by Polair as he drove through Logan streets at 100km/h, overtaking cars on double white lines, running through red traffic lights and causing other drivers to use evasive action to avoid a high speed collision.
Police used a tyre deflation device to stop Malone, whose car was later impounded.
Mr Wallace estimated Malone lost about $40,000 worth of work equipment stored in the car, which has remained significantly damaged in the impound lot since the incident.
Mr Wallace said Malone characterised the offending as his “rock bottom” and has since sought professional help get back on the straight and narrow.
Malone was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for an operational period of two years.
UNNAMED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDER
A South Australian man blamed Covid-related border closures when police found him hiding under his ex-girlfriend’s bed in Bracken Ridge in Brisbane, the Sandgate Magistrates Court heard.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to three charges including breaking and entering, unlawful possession of a drug utensil and contravening a domestic violence protection order.
The court heard the man had been in a tumultuous relationship with the woman for 10 years, during which time they had two children together.
The man had returned to South Australia about two years ago after the DVO had been issued, to “sort himself out” and reconnect with family, but returned four months ago to visit the children.
It was during one such visit, on May 31, that police were called to the woman’s home where they found her distressed and upset on the footpath with her children.
The woman told police she was fearful to re-enter her home while the man was there, and he’d repeatedly stopped her and the children from leaving in their car or in an Uber.
He emptied their bags over the front lawn and then refused to let go of one of his daughters.
Police took the man to the watch-house and issued him bail under the condition he not go without 100m of the home.
One week later, a police search revealed the man hiding beneath the bed in the main bedroom, with a bong he’d brought with him.
“He was the sole occupant of the house at that time,” police prosecutor Val Crossley told the court.
“He stated that he knew he was not supposed to be at the address but he had nowhere else to go.”
Duty lawyer for the defence told the court the man had never planned to stay in Brisbane, but Covid restrictions had affected his travel plans and he had no choice but to live at his ex-partner’s home.
He was sentenced to 12 months of probation and a conviction was recorded.
STEPHANIE IRIS BEESLEY
A 24-year-old former hotel worker was sentenced to a lengthy period of imprisonment after Covid lockdowns sparked a year-long, meth-fuelled crime spree across Brisbane’s north.
Stephanie Iris Beesley pleaded guilty to a whopping 64 charges.
Pine Rivers Magistrates Court heard the offending began when Beesley was caught with drugs at Kallangur on November 13, 2019.
It escalated over the following months to stealing, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, evading police, fraud and possession of firearms.
The offences mostly occurred around Bray Park, Kallangur and Morayfield.
One of the more notable offences involved receiving an $18,000 stolen motorbike and attempting to on-sell it.
Defence lawyer Andrew Ferrett of The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service told the court Beesley had a traumatic childhood and started using illegal drugs at a young age.
Despite her hardships, Beesley was able to get herself back on track for five years when she worked as a waitress, barista and supervisor at The Sebel Brisbane hotel in the CBD.
Covid, however, changed everything.
Along with thousands of other tourism and hospitality workers, Beesley lost her job in the wake of coronavirus restrictions.
It triggered a dramatic, downward spiral of drug addiction and crime Beesley herself described as “stupid, reckless and careless”.
Magistrate Trevor Morgan sentenced Beesley to 50 days imprisonment for each of the two evasion offences, six months imprisonment for the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and nine months imprisonment for the fraud relating to the motorbike, each to be served concurrently.
For the drug offences and the driving on demerit offences Beesley was fined $2000 and she was disqualified from driving for a total of 39 months or just over three years.
For the remainder of the offences, Beesley was convicted and not further punished.
ANDREW JULIAN STEWART-SMITH
The coronavirus lockdown was blamed for a 24-year-old Brisbane man’s downward spiral into drugs that caused him to stalk a former roommate, steal stock from Bunnings Warehouse and travel with close to 400g of dangerous drugs.
Andrew Julian Stewart-Smith from Chermside West pleaded guilty to 27 charges committed over six months.
Defence Lawyer Stephanie Tsimos told Sandgate Magistrates Court that Stewart-Smith lost his job at a caravan park in February due to the pandemic, which had “significant impact on his mental health and ultimately saw him walking down a very dark path”.
The crime spree began on March 6 when a woman reported her luxury European car had been stolen from her garage in Gordon Park.
Polair later identified the Audi as it was parked in Strathpine.
Three men, including Stewart-Smith, were seen getting out of the car and were later arrested and charged for unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
During a search of Stewart-Smith’s home the next day, police discovered 1g of cannabis and a bong.
Stewart-Smith had shared a home with his female friend of two years, but the relationship soured after a drunken hook up led to unreciprocated feelings.
The court heard Stewart-Smith had become “possessive and controlling”, prompting the woman to move out.
From March 21, Stewart-Smith turned up uninvited at her home, sent hundreds of text messages and dozens of calls, saying things such as, “I’m going to ruin you”.
He was arrested two days later after being identified on CCTV footage stealing a $99 blower kit from Bunnings Warehouse at Lawnton.
The young man’s drug addiction seemed to worsen progressively from May to August, when on six separate occasions he was found with dangerous drugs or drug utensils, including syringes, used glass pipes, MDMA, methamphetamines, and restricted drugs.
Ms Tsimos told the court Stewart-Smith woke up in hospital in August after suffering from a drug-induced psychosis and overdose.
He has since made efforts to detox and rehabilitate with the assistance of his family and friends.
He was convicted and sentenced to two years of probation.
NO CONVICTION RECORDED
JACOB ALEXANDER ELLIS
“Covid and the end of the world” drove a 25-year-old Kallangur hoon to do burnouts in the car park of the North Lakes Westfield, the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court heard.
Jacob Alexander Ellis pleaded guilty to four charges following his public meltdown, including obstructing a police officer, wilfully making unnecessary noise or smoke with a vehicle, possession of a drug utensil and failure to provide a specimen of blood for analysis.
The court heard Westfield security officers called police on January 10 when they saw a young man in a Holden ute doing “a number of circular burnouts”.
Police tracked Ellis to the nearby Coles and asked him why he’d been hooning through the carpark.
According to the police prosecutor, Ellis replied: “Because of Covid and the end of the world”.
When the officers made it clear they’d be pressing charges Ellis became enraged, yelled at them that he had Covid and refused to accompany them to a police station.
Ellis also told them he had a problem with authority.
He was dragged, kicking and screaming, to the Pine Rivers watch-house.
Ellis told the court he acted out of a combination of mounting stress, fear, anxiety and mental illness.
Magistrate Melanie Ho warned Ellis not to self-medicate with dangerous drugs and sentenced him to six months probation.
No conviction was recorded.
SONIA MICHELLE DAVIDSON
Hairdresser Sonia Michelle Davidson told the Holland Park Magistrates Court she turned to shoplifting after she lost her job due to Covid.
Davidson faced court on July 20 on four charges of stealing, stemming from an incident that occurred on March 22.
Davidson, who represented herself, told Magistrate Simon Young she had sole care of two adult, autistic sons and had recently lost her job.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Elen French said an Upper Mt Gravatt Woolworths loss prevention officer spotted Davidson placing items in her bag and leaving the store without attempting to pay.
Sgt French said officers from the shopping centre police beat detained Davidson, searched her bag and found $73.30 in grocery items, which were returned to the store.
The search also uncovered $19.30 in beauty products from another store, $143.90 in beauty products from a Terry White chemist and $60 in clothes from the centre’s Big W store.
All those items were also returned.
“Financial stress and hardship caused me to make some bad decisions,’’ Davidson told the court.
But Mr Young was sceptical of her excuse.
“I would have sympathy if you did not have convictions for similar offences in the last two years,’’ he said.
“These types of crimes are all too prevalent in the community.’’
Davidson was fined $600 but no conviction was recorded.
TROY MANNING
Highly-regarded Brisbane chef Troy Manning told Holland Park Magistrates Court he fell into alcohol abuse when Covid hit, devastating the hospitality industry.
Manning, who has worked at Stokehouse and a European Michelin-starred eatery, pleaded guilty on March 26 to a spate of graffiti crimes where he drew his “tag’’ on a wall outside elite All Hallows’ School in Fortitude Valley, on a train and on street furniture in West End.
Manning pleaded guilty in Holland Park Magistrates Court to seven counts of wilful damage and one count of possessing a graffiti instrument (a Sharpie pen).
The court heard he was on probation for similar offences when he was arrested for the string of graffiti incidents, committed between August and September last year and on January 6 last year.
But his lawyer, Paul Coves, said the sous chef had turned his life around and had not offended since September.
Mr Coves said Manning, who now leads a team of 10 people when his head chef is away, worked 65 hours a week and had lived in Belgium where he worked in a leading restaurant.
He was so highly thought of in the hospitality industry that he was recently headhunted from Stokehouse restaurant by another leading Brisbane eatery.
“When Covid came along a lot of things went wrong in the hospitality industry,” Mr Coves said.
“But he’s come a long way. He’s realised the depths he was at and has abstained from alcohol for four months.’’
Magistrate Simon Young said he understood the devastating impact of Covid and sympathised with a tragedy in Manning’s personal life at the time of the offending.
Manning was sentenced to 18 months probation and ordered to undertake 40 hours of community service, namely removing graffiti, and that he pay All Hallows’ School $160 and Brisbane City Council $380 in restitution for the damage he caused.
ETHAN BEN-ANTHONY MCLEOD
A court heard the stress of not being able to see his children during the Covid lockdowns caused Caboolture man Ethan Ben-Anthony Mcleod, 25, to “spiral out of control”.
Mcleod, the son of a Queensland Police detective, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment following a series of destructive and drug-fuelled offences.
He pleaded guilty in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court to 12 offences spanning from April to October 2020.
The court heard Mcleod made a series of bad decisions and his life spiralled out of control when he started to use drugs to self-medicate for stress, caused by not being able to see his children during the first 2020 lockdown.
On June 19, at the height of his addiction, Mcleod broke into a Narangba home and stole a computer, then on October 26 crashed his car into three power poles at Deception Bay while driving under the influence.
He was further found in possession of a knife in a public place, a category A, B or M weapon and a category D, H or R weapon.
The court heard Mcleod, a father of twin boys with a limited criminal history, had been working hard to turn his life around following the arrest.
Mcleod was sentenced to 15 months probation and no criminal convictions were recorded.
CAITLIN MCARTHUR
A young Brisbane woman with an “abysmal” traffic record received a dressing down by a Logan magistrate for evading police during the hard lockdown last year.
The court heard she was egged on by her friends, who were worried about being charged for Covid lockdown breaches.
Doolandella childcare worker Caitlin McArthur, 20, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court to two offences, failing to appear and failing to comply with a direction to stop a private vehicle.
The court heard she was lucky to not receive a mandatory 50 days’ imprisonment for evading police, after the prosecution offered no evidence to that charge.
The incident occurred early on April 19 last year, a month after the Premier imposed a hard lockdown.
The court heard McArthur was driving with several passengers at Ormeau at the intersection of Burnside Rd and Eastern Service Rd when police witnessed her perform an illegal U-turn over a painted white line.
Police turned on their sirens but the car sped off and merged onto the Pacific Motorway.
Two days later, police attended a Kuraby residence to serve an evasion notice upon the car’s registered owner, McArthur’s mother.
McArthur attended Upper Mount Gravatt Police Station later that day and made full admissions, telling police her friends “told her to drive and not stop” as they feared receiving a fine for contravening a public health direction.
She was fined $900 and disqualified her from driving for three months.
No convictions were recorded.
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