Meet the criminals convicted for stealing the strangest selection of items from Brisbane suburbs
When one pictures a lucrative heist, diamonds, gold and designer bags may come to mind, but not for these Brisbane thieves, whose perplexing selection of everyday items have left police scratching their heads.
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When one pictures a lucrative heist, diamonds, gold and designer bags may come to mind.
Not so, for these Brisbane thieves, whose perplexing selection of everyday items have left police scratching their heads.
From hundreds of dollars worth of pens, to showgirl wigs, sex toys and everything in between, here are the most unusual items taken at a five-finger discount.
$500 WORTH OF PENS
A methamphetamine-addict from Bracken Ridge stole a whopping $500 worth of pens from Officeworks during a six hour crime spree across Brisbane’s north.
The Sandgate Magistrates Court heard the case of 32-year-old Sebastian Andrew Jess-Hunter, who appeared via videolink from the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre to plead guilty to 13 offences on March 10.
After a series of public nuisance offences on the morning of December 8, Jess-Hunter was released from the Pine Rivers watch-house and continued his rampage into the nearby shopping centre.
The court heard that at 7.30pm Jess-Hunter was observed “aggressively loading his trolley” at Coles Strathpine.
His behaviour attracted the attention of 65-year-old Coles employee Karen Lee Sawyer.
When Jess-Hunter realised Sawyer was watching him, he threw a 5kg pumpkin at her, causing significant pain and discomfort to her ankle.
He left the store with $542 worth of unpaid grocery items and headed over to the foodcourt McDonald’s, where he reached over the counter and took the Apple iPad staff used to complete delivery orders.
The police prosecutor told the court Jess-Hunter’s “stupid” crime spree continued into the nearby Red Rooster, where he stole an Apple iPhone, and into the Officeworks, where he stole a bewildering $500 worth of ball-point pens.
By 7.30 the police caught up with Jess-Hunter and he was taken into custody, where he has remained for the past 92 days.
For the charges of stealing and wilful damage Magistrate Jennifer Batts sentenced Jess-Hunter to six months imprisonment with immediate parole.
On the one count of obstructing police and the two counts of assault, Jess-Hunter was sentenced to 18 months of probation.
Convictions were recorded.
For the full story, click here.
SHOWGIRL WIGS
A top Logan netball official ripped off an online retailer in a sneaky ploy to get a free fancy wig, a court heard in July.
Corey Tauariki, 24, a part-time manager at a leading Logan netball club, pleaded guilty to the single fraud charge.
The court heard Tauariki purchased a $99 wig from Showgirl Wigs on February 8, 2018, which also included $20 postage.
The wig was delivered and signed for by ‘Corey T’ on February 12.
However, on February 23, Tauariki contacted his credit card provider to report the transaction as fraudulent and request a chargeback.
When questioned by the owner, Harley Solomou, who had received an email alerting him to the chargeback two days later, Tauariki told him to disregard it.
The defendant told Mr Solomou he had made a “silly mistake”, a claim he repeated to him on March 11.
On May 6, Showgirl Wigs was debited $119 for the chargeback, which also included a $25 processing fee.
The victim made a report to police, which resulted in Tauariki being interviewed at Crestmead Police Station and charged on June 22 this year.
The court heard Tauariki told police that he couldn’t remember making the purchase which was why he reported it as fraudulent.
Tauariki was fined $400 and ordered to pay compensation of $144 to Mr Solomou. No conviction was recorded.
For the full story, click here.
SEX TOYS
A Zillmere man was “extremely embarrassed” to have racked up hundreds of dollars on a stolen debit card buying sex toys, the Sandgate Magistrates Court heard in August.
Bruce Edward Walters, 46, pleaded guilty to taking the Commonwealth Bank debit card of Hazel Bates and using it to make more than 20 purchases totalling $686.35 between July 14 and 19.
CCTV footage showed Walters using the stolen card at Totally Adult in Aspley.
Police conducted a search at Walters’ home, where they located a number of new sex toys by his bed.
Walters told police “he’d bought them years ago” and “did not remember what day he was at Totally Adult”.
The court heard Walters had recently resumed taking ice, and blamed the drug use for his poor decision making.
“He didn’t want his mother to hear about or know about what he’s charged with,” said lawyer for the defence Stephanie Tsimos.
Walters was sentenced to a nine month good behaviour bond, fined $600 and ordered to pay the stolen money back to the Commonwealth Bank.
No conviction was recorded.
For the full story, click here.
GLASSES WITHOUT THEIR PRESCRIPTION LENSES
A lack of foresight led a north Brisbane midwifery student to steal glasses from Oscar Wylee at Westfield North Lakes, the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court heard in December.
Brodie Jannette Duffy-Smith, 19, pleaded guilty to stealing the frames from the trendy business on Wednesday, October 28.
The police prosecutor told the court Duffy-Smith entered the shop to try on a number of different frames and exited a short time after, at which point the employees noticed a pair of glasses missing from the display.
They conducted a check of their CCTV footage, which showed Duffy-Smith placing the glasses in her jacket pocket and then leaving without paying.
Duffy-Smith attended the Mango Hill police station to participate in an official interview, at which point she told police it was “a really stupid thing to do” and expressed her remorse.
She was placed on a $300 good behaviour bond for six months and no conviction was recorded.
For the full story, click here.
$300 WORTH OF SOCKS
An unemployed baker from Brisbane’s north stole more than $350 worth of Ralph Lauren Polo socks from David Jones “because he needed money”, a court heard.
Jake Christoper Noble, 27, appeared at the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on March 15 to plead guilty to a single of stealing.
The court heard loss prevention officers at the Sunshine Plaza at Maroochydore observed Noble placing the designer socks into his bag.
Noble was arrested and told police he took the socks so he could sell them and make some money.
The court heard Noble has a five-year-old daughter and struggled to make ends meet since he lost his job six months prior.
Magistrate Trevor Morgan fined Noble $350.
A conviction was recorded.
MATERIALS FOR A CUBBY HOUSE
Jason Carl Durant
A 27-year-old Peninsula man who stole a number of plasterboard sheets from a construction site in order to build his children a cubby house was sentenced to 12 months in prison in June.
Jason Carl Durant pleaded guilty to stealing a number of plasterboard sheets from the construction site of a new home at Newport on May 3, 2020 in Redcliffe Magistrates Court.
The court heard Durant stole the sheets so he could build a cubby house for his two children, aged 4 and 9.
Magistrate Bucknall sentenced him to 12 months prison with an immediate parole release date.
For the full story, click here.
40 PAIRS OF USED SNEAKERS
Police have launched a hunt for a sneaky sneaker nicker after more than 40 pairs of shoes were stolen from a house at Mount Warren Park on March 1.
Owner of the property Robyn Hausia said the shoes were stacked in a rack inside the door of her Mount Warren Boulevard home.
The family has launched an online neighbourhood campaign to track down the heel of a thief and help police give local thugs the boot.
A pair of men’s size 13 Adidas shoes, which cost $1000, was among the haul which also included women’s high heels and embroidered ballet slippers along with two pairs of new school shoes.
CCTV cameras spotted the thief inside the house for more than 30 minutes while the family of five slept.
Police said 10 pairs of hair clippers and other items were also stolen and called for anyone with information to help.
No charges have been laid.
For the full story, click here.
A WOOLIES TRUCK
A Regents Park man high on ice stole a Woolworths home delivery truck and led police on a four-hour chase, repeatedly dodging stinger devices and ramming police vehicles, in what a prosecutor described as one of the “most serious examples of dangerous driving I’ve come across”.
On March 12 of 2020, Jacob Nicolaas Taman-Adnum, 30, pulled up beside the five-tonne Woolworths-branded truck, which was on delivery at Cornubia, and stole it.
The court heard Taman-Adnum then led police on a four-hour chase through the suburbs of Logan.
Taman-Adnum repeatedly swerved towards police and civilian vehicles, forcing them to take urgent evasive action.
Police stingers were used to deflate the truck’s tyres.
He was charged with four counts of wilful damage of police property, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle adversely affected by drugs, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, driving without a licence and failing to dispose of a syringe.
Defence lawyer David Gilmore told the court his client had a “limited recollection” of the four-hour chase and believed he could have been experiencing a psychosis.
Taman-Adnum was jailed for 22 months and disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years.
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