Young meth-addict racks up 64 charges in ‘reckless, stupid’ crime spree across Brisbane’s north
The former hotel worker from Brisbane’s north, who lost her job during COVID, turned to drugs, weapons and lucrative motorbike fraud to make ends meet.
Moreton
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A 24-year-old former hotel worker was sentenced to a lengthy period of imprisonment at the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on Thursday after a year-long, meth-fuelled crime spree across Brisbane’s north.
Stephanie Iris Beesley appeared red-faced and crying via videolink from Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre to plead guilty to a whopping 64 charges.
The court heard the offending began when Beesley was caught in possession of drugs at Kallangur on November 13, 2019 and escalated over the following months to stealing, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, evading police, fraud and possession of firearms.
The offences predominantly occurred around Bray Park, Kallangur and Morayfield.
One of the more notable offences involved receiving a stolen motorbike, to the value of $18,000, and attempting to on sell it for personal profit.
Defence lawyer Andrew Ferrett of The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service told the court Beesley had a traumatic childhood growing up in a home where her stepfather manufactured methamphetamines and beat her mother.
Beesley started using cannabis at a young age and methamphetamines from the age of 16.
Despite her hardships, Beesley was able to get herself back on track for five years when she worked as a waitress, barista and ultimately, a 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”.
Beesley has been in custody since her arrest 64 days ago, but her time behind bars is far from over.
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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.
She will be eligible for parole on March 19.
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.
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