Dad jailed after ankle tracker gives away whereabouts

An Uber trip and a bunch of flowers caught out this north Brisbane man, sending him from loved up to locked up.

Jason Andrew Botha allegedly racked up offences including breaking curfew despite being fitted with a police ankle monitor.

A POLICE ankle monitor was no match for a man so caught up with his ex it lead him all the way to jail.

Jason Andrew Botha, 34, was on bail and being tracked by an ankle monitor but it was allegedly not enough to keep him on the straight and narrow, Caboolture Magistrates Court heard.

The court heard the Morayfield man had been granted bail thanks to his brother-in-law who allowed him to live at his home but instead of thanking the man, Botha allegedly ripped him off to buy flowers for his ex-partner.

Caboolture Magistrates Court heard Botha allegedly used his brother-in-law’s credit card details to buy a bunch of flowers for his ex.

But Botha allegedly bought the flowers and also ordered an Uber to the woman’s home — a trip that was tracked by an ankle monitor. The ankle monitor allegedly alerted police on 143 occasions that Botha was at his ex-partner’s house while on bail.

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Botha’s defence said his ex-partner had recently given birth to the pair’s second child.

Prosecution alleged during an application for bail Wednesday the monitor had also shown Botha had broken his 9pm curfew multiple times, being up to 1.1km away when he should have been home.

“Despite the fitting of that device, Mr Botha has continued to reoffend,” the prosecutor said, alleging the device had also been found “crudely repaired by glue” after it was removed from its ankle strap.

Magistrate Peter Hasted said the GPS device was “extremely restrictive and the closest step next to custody” but still was not enough to keep Botha from racking up charges while on bail.

Botha, who was denied further bail, will now face charges including 10 counts of breaching bail, eight counts of fraud, entering premises and committing an indictable offence and possessing dangerous drugs.

He will stay behind bars at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre and return to court on May 28.

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