Queensland dads who landed in court for bad behaviour in 2022
Ranging from angry stabbings, to drink driving, assault, stealing cars, trafficking drugs to child exploitation images — some of the reasons Queensland dads landed in court.
Police & Courts
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Here is a list of fathers who ended up in court in 2022 charged with offences ranging from drug trafficking, to grievous bodily harm, drink driving, possession of child exploitation material, to failing to pay debts.
The list includes cases where convictions have been recorded and cases where no conviction has been recorded.
ROSS STUART McCALLUM: DRUG TRAFFICKING
Gold Coast ice-smuggling father Ross Stuart McCallum hid drugs in comics as part of an elaborate plan to mail the drug ice into Australia inside packages disguised as comic books.
McCallum, 52, a grandfather from the Gold Coast, pleaded guilty to nine charges in the Supreme Court in Brisbane in October.
Prosecutor Bruce Mumford told Justice David Boddice McCallum McCallum travelled to the US west coast where he sourced the ice from at least four suppliers, then posted the drugs to the Gold Coast in packages disguised as comic books, legal documents or business documents.
The court also heard US Customs staff or Australian Border Force seized some packages but others evaded detection.
Some of the packages were addressed to fictitious people at vacant houses and one package contained 647g of pure ice.
McCallum was paid a total of $312,000 into his bank accounts by customers, and was chasing a $16,000 drug debt from a customer, the court heard.
Barrister Joshua Fenton told the court McCallum moved to the Gold Coast at 21 to play for an AFL feeder club for the Brisbane Bears.
The court heard McCallum was concerned his 25-year-old daughter, a single mother of a two-month-old girl, would be unable to pay the rent at the house they shared.
Justice Boddice sentenced McCallum to nine years for trafficking in ice, with parole eligibility after five years.
REIKETH’E BRIAN ROY COMOLATTI: TRAFFICKING DRUGS
Reiketh’e Brian Roy Comolatti, who is the son of a former prison officer, was jailed for trafficking drugs for five months in May 2022.
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking drugs, two of possessing drugs, one of possessing an item used in trafficking drugs and one of possessing an item gained from trafficking drugs when he appeared in Rockhampton District Court in April 2022.
Crown prosecutor Harriet Hall-Pearce said Comolatti initially sold 57-85g of marijuana a week in street-level quantities during a five-month trafficking period starting in April 2020.
The court heard Comolatti was found with 20g of marijuana, a small quantity of MDMA, a silver necklace and cash obtained from trafficking when he was intercepted in September 2020.
Ms Hall-Pearce said in late August and early September 2020, Comolatti escalated his business to sell almost 2kg a week, selling about $24,000 of the drug.
Judge Jeff Clarke said Comolatti used Snapchat or SMS to organise sales with some wholesale deals bringing in $4000-$5000.
Ms Hall-Pearce said Comolatti used the profits to provide for his former partner and daughter in Gladstone, his own hotel accommodation and food.
The court heard Comolatti’s daughter was nearly three and in his full-time care when the mother was at work. Judge Jeff Clarke Comolatti sentenced him to two years’ prison with immediate parole.
ANTON QUAY HAYNES: TRAFFICKING DRUGS
A judge described single father Anton Quay Haynes’s drug trafficking business as “quite well established” despite it only operating for a week.
Haynes, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking drugs, one of possessing anything used in the commission of a crime, two of possessing drugs and two of possessing drug utensils when he appeared in Rockhampton District Court in April.
The court heard he had 10 customers who he sold 89g of marijuana in 1g-7g quantities, making $1500 profit.
The trafficking was discovered after a search in October 2020 when he was found in possession of Xanax, 12g of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The court heard Haynes had a 14-page criminal record with two district court sentence entries and included seven convictions for drug offences.
Defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand said Haynes was the full-time carer of a child born in December as the mother was in prison.
Judge Jeff Clarke said Haynes’s criminal record included a conviction for robbery with violence and Haynes had reoffended five times while on bail for the trafficking charge.
Judge Clarke sentenced Haynes to 15 months’ prison with immediate parole release.
JERAMIAH OWEN WARRINER: TRAFFICKING DRUGS
Mount Morgan father Jeramiah Owen Warriner, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking marijuana when he appeared in Rockhampton District Court in May 2022.
The court heard he trafficked the drug for eight months to support his own habit and had 31 customers over the period including some aged 16 to 18.
The court heard Warriner sold illicit substances to at least three teenagers and had turned to using drugs to “calm his epilepsy” after his mother’s death.
Crown prosecutor Matthew Sutton said Warriner supplied 327g of marijuana on three occasions, 114g on two occasions and 227g on three occasions with the trafficking detected from messages on his phone, which was seized during a raid in April 2021.
The trafficking charge was not laid until September 2021, a month after he was sentenced for possessing drugs found during the April search.
The court also heard Warriner shared care for a seven-year-old son he had during a 10-year relationship and two older daughters from a previous relationship.
Judge Brian Devereaux sentenced Warriner to 2.5 years in prison, wholly suspended and operational for four years.
TRAVIS PETER RICHARDSON: TRAFFICKING A DANGEROUS DRUG
A large drug stash hidden in a hotel room bathroom was enough to bring down ice trafficker
Travis Peter Richardson, who absconded from a rehabilitation facility before being arrested in a caravan park.
Toowoomba Supreme Court was told in June 2022 that police attended a hotel in Toowoomba on November 9, 2020 to arrest a woman wanted on an outstanding warrant, only to find Richardson, as well as 2.345g of methylamphetamine.
The hotel manager called police after finding a toiletry bag containing a mobile phone, 12.037g of methylamphetamine, of which 8.401g of which was pure.
While a number of messages were sent through encrypted applications, police were able to ascertain that the 35-year-old had trafficked methylamphetamine between October 28 and November 9, 2020.
The father of one pleaded guilty to trafficking dangerous drugs and two charges of possessing dangerous drugs, as well as a number of summary offences including unlawful possession of a weapon, possessing tainted property and possessing dangerous drugs arising from his caravan park arrest in April.
Richardson was jailed for three-and-a-half years, but with 112 days of presentence custody as time served a parole eligibility date was set for December 2, 2022.
ARON NEVILLE WILSON: TRAFFICKING DANGEROUS DRUG
Aron Neville Wilson, 29, faced Toowoomba Supreme Court in June where he pleaded guilty to trafficking in dangerous drugs, five counts of possessing dangerous drugs and unlawful possession of a weapon.
The court heard Wilson was arrested by specialist police following a dramatic stand-off involving a stolen car and loaded sawn-off shotgun at a Harristown service station in 2020.
He had been on the run after narrowly avoiding a police raid on his home.
The court was told a search warrant was executed on his home on January 10, 2020, when a large quantity of drugs was found including 20g of methylamphetamine, 15g of MDMA and $17,000.
Despite being the subject of a police raid Wilson’s trafficking continued, and the court heard he possessed weapons and threatened people who owed him drug money.
The enterprise came crashing down on May 15, 2020 when police executed a search warrant on his home, and after refusing to open the door, Wilson managed to escape and fled the scene.
Five days later, on May 25, Wilson was spotted in a stolen car at a Harristown service station, and despite attempting to escape he was apprehended at the scene with the assistance of specialist police, including the dog squad.
A father of three, the court was told Wilson wished to turn his life to a more “positive trajectory” and be a better father.
He was sentenced to six years behind bars, but with 739 days of pre-sentence custody recognised as time served, he was immediately eligible for parole.
KYLE MICHAEL CSALLO: SUPPLYING A DANGEROUS DRUG
Toowoomba District Court was told in February the father of three sold drugs out of the family’s Toowoomba home.
Kyle Michael Csallo, 31, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of supplying a dangerous drug and one each of possessing, producing and trafficking a dangerous drug.
A police search of Csallo’s home in February 2021 had found a cannabis plant growing in the back yard along with 47g of cannabis leaf packaged in bags.
Police found messages dating back to 2017 to the supply of cannabis which he had done sporadically over the years since.
Csallo’s offending escalated to the point he trafficked cannabis over a three-month period which only came to halt when police searched his home.
Although the trafficking period was of a relatively short period, it was the Crown case that Csallo had a customer base of about 22 people and he had supplied the drug on at least 96 occasions in that time.
Csallo was sentenced to two years’ jail, but was released on immediate parole in recognition of his self rehabilitation before and after his arrest.
TOMMY SCOTT McLACHLAN: POSSESSING DANGEROUS DRUG
Toowoomba man Tommy Scott McLachlan missed the birth of his third child after he was jailed for drug possession.
McLachlan pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing a dangerous drug in quantities greater than 2g when he fronted Toowoomba Supreme Court in June 2022.
The court heard police had stopped a vehicle in June 2021 for the purposes of a search and found McLachlan in the passenger seat.
The 37-year-old said he had a glass pipe and glasses case containing drugs to the officers, but as he got out of the car they noticed something protruding from his backside.
A search of the case found it contained 11g of methylamphetamine, and a further search of the car uncovered an express post envelope which contained a further 6.825g of the same drug.
The court was told that after McLachlan was taken back to Toowoomba watch house he was found with a folding knife in a bag.
Police also removed a package from his backside which was found to contain 33 buprenorphine tabs and three syringes.
He was remanded in custody on February 24 2022.
The court heard he had removed a GPS tracker that was part of his bail conditions.
McLachlan was jailed for two years, three months, and with 99 days time served, had a released parole date of December 3.
SHANE MATTHEW McPHERSON: POSSESSING A DANGEROUS DRUG
Rockhampton dad of two, Shane Matthew McPherson, ordered more than 10g of cocaine to be delivered by Australia Post to distribute to mates at a “weekend of men behaving poorly”.
The 33 year old pleaded guilty to a string of charges including one count of possessing more than 50g of a dangerous drug and three counts of supplying a dangerous drug when he appeared in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton on May 18.
He also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing steroids, one possessing a phone used in the commission of a drug offence, one of possessing a restricted item, one possessing suspected tainted property, one possessing drug utensils and one of contravening a police order to provide access to electronically stored information.
Crown prosecutor Harriet Hall-Pearce told the court police were notified of suspicious parcels sent via Australia Post.
One parcel, which police intercepted on May 11, contained 11.492g of pure cocaine in 55.78g of substance and another, intercepted on May 28, contained 8.875g in 27.999g of substance.
Police also intercepted a parcel sent to McPherson’s residence on May 21, containing 82.8g of steroids.
A police search located drug utensils, a suspected stolen mobile phone, a retractable billy club and baton, vials of testosterone and uncovered a message on McPherson’s phone about him supplying an unknown person with steroids.
The court heard McPherson had been sent to prison in his early 20s for serious offences, including a five-year prison term after a Supreme Court jury in Rockhampton found him guilty of acts intending to cause grievous bodily harm in September 2010.
Justice Peter Davis ordered McPherson to 18 months’ prison, wholly suspended and operational for three years.
SHANE ANTHONY CREGAN: MALICIOUS CONDUCT WITH INTENT
Former North Queensland gun shop owner Shane Anthony Cregan, 50, was jailed in April after a violent premeditated attack in which he ambushed a woman and shot her in the head over a “soured” business relationship.
Townsville Supreme Court heard Cregan went to his business partner’s home with disguises and an array of guns and weapons and shot the man’s partner in the head about 8.15am on November 20, 2019.
The woman had opened the garage door as she left the Rangewood property for work when she heard a crack and felt something strike her face.
Crown Prosecutor David Nardone said the woman felt “immense pain” after Cregan shot her in the face with a rifle before using the butt of the gun to hit the woman as she screamed for help.
Cregan also bashed one of her rescuers with a hammer.
Cregan was initially charged with attempted murder and was set to face trial but the charge was later dropped in a deal when Cregan pleaded guilty to committing a malicious act with intent.
He was sentenced for a string of six serious offences including malicious conduct with intent, assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and unlawful possession of weapons.
Cregan’s daughter attended court in support of the 50-year-old.
In sentencing, Justice David North handed Cregan a head sentence of eight years with the 870 days spent on remand considered time already served.
He was eligible to apply for parole on November 19 2022 after serving out three years of his sentence in custody.
TARNAH DAVID JOSEPH PARATA-PLANT: SUPPLYING A DANGEROUS DRUG
A young drug courier’s honesty with police put him in a more serious position but it may also have saved him from serving actual jail time.
Tarnah David Joseph Parata-Plant was sitting in a car outside a house in Toowoomba about 9pm, March 26 2022, when police approached him for a licence check and breath test.
Appearing nervous, when police asked if he had any drugs with him, the then 23-year-old said he had MDMA (ecstasy), acid and pot in his car, Toowoomba Supreme Court was told in August.
During a search of the car, police found 38g of cannabis, 2.61g of MDMA, 15 LSD tablets and two mobile phones, the PIN for which the defendant gave to police.
Those phones contained messages of offers of drug supplies, with Parata-Plant telling police he was being paid to pick-up and drop off the drugs and that he had three drops to make that night.
A search of his home turned up another 85 LSD tablets, 176g of cannabis and more MDMA.
Parata-Plant, who had since turned 24, pleaded guilty to 16 offences including 10 counts of supplying a dangerous drug, two of possessing dangerous drugs, and one each of possessing a dangerous drug above the 2g schedule and possessing LSD above the .0044g schedule and possessing phones for drug supply.
The father to a newborn, Parata-Plant was sentenced to two years in jail but was immediately released on parole.
TROY ANDREW CANNON: SUPPLYING DANGEROUS DRUGS
Father-of-three and FIFO worker Troy Andrew Cannon was found with more than $100,000 of marijuana that he was dealing and offering in exchange for sexual favours when police raided his Mooloolah Valley home, Maroochydore District Court heard.
Cannon pleaded guilty to 19 offences including 16 counts of supplying dangerous drugs, producing dangerous drugs, possessing dangerous drugs and possessing anything used in the commission of a drug offence when he appeared in July.
The court heard police seized his mobile phone that revealed he supplied or offered to supply marijuana to seven different people on 16 occasions.
On some occasions he would offer the drug in exchange for sexual favours, and on one occasion he offered to supply MDMA to someone.
During the search in March, police found 60 plants ranging in height from 10cm to 1.5m, weighing 7.2kg. The court heard the estimated street value was between $116,000 and $133,000.
Dried cannabis was also found, totalling 1.924kg with an estimated street value of $23,000 to $27,000.
Cannon was given 15 months’ imprisonment suspended for three years.
MICHAEL WILLIAM BROWN: POSSESSING DANGEROUS DRUGS
Lake Macdonald father-of-two Michael William Brown pleaded guilty to possessing dangerous drugs, producing dangerous drugs and possessing anything used in the commission of a crime when he fronted Maroochydore District Court in June 2022.
The court heard Brown was caught running a “semi-sophisticated” drug operation with a total of 94 marijuana plants growing in his backyard along with several growing houses and greenhouses equipped with watering systems, timers, pumps, filters and led lights.
The total weight of the plants, that ranged up to a metre in height, was 7.746kg weight, and dried marijuana was also found inside the house weighing 1.316kg.
Cash of $1900 was also found in the pantry alongside some of the marijuana.
Brown admitted to police he had been growing the plants for about two months and admitted to occasionally selling the drug to his friends but said he didn’t make a profit as he would trade it for fish or prawns.
The 59-year-old was given 12 months’ prison suspended immediately for 12 months.
SCOTT EDWARD COLEMAN: POSSESSION OF DRUGS
A Noosa Heads dad told a court the reason he was found with 92g of marijuana he bought off the street was because the medicinal cannabis that’s prescribed to him was too expensive.
Scott Edward Coleman was sentenced to four months’ jail, suspended for two years, when he fronted the Noosa Magistrates Court in May.
The court heard Coleman’s home was raided by Sunshine Coast District police on February 8, 2022, in the search for drugs.
Police prosecutor Alison Johnstone said detectives with drug dogs scaled the Noosa Heads property in Coleman’s absence and found 90g of marijuana in a glass jar along with a further 2g.
Sergeant Johnstone said police also found several canisters of medicinal cannabis in the home with receipts along with a bong and a cone piece.
Coleman pleaded guilty to possessing drugs, possessing property suspected of being used in connection with the commission of a drug offence and possessing utensils.
GARY LEE EVAN GRANT: GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM
Father-of-two Gary Lee Evan Grant, who broke a relative’s jaw when he slugged him with a single punch to the head after being called a “motherf*****” at the end of a long family drinking session, avoided jail time.
The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm when he appeared in the Cairns District Court in August.
Grant punched a man, who required surgery to stabilise a fracture.
Judge Paul Smith heard that Grant had apologised to the victim. Judge Smith sentenced Grant to 18 months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for two years.
ZEKE FRANCIS SHACKLETON: GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM
Father and FIFO worker Zeke Francis Shackleton, 28, was jailed for repeatedly punching a man in the face causing his lip to split in half when the pair met at a popular Sunshine Coast entertainment precinct.
Shackleton pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court on May 23, 2022, to one count of grievous bodily harm in a public place while affected by an intoxicating substance.
He was sentenced to two years’ prison suspended after serving three months, along with 50 hours community service to be completed within 12 months.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said Shackleton was at the Peak nightclub on Ocean St in Maroochydore when he got into an argument with a 34-year-old man on January 16, 2021.
Shackelton pushed the man to the ground and they were both evicted from the venue.
Shortly after, Shackleton was waiting on the street for a ride home when a fight broke out and Shackleton punched the victim in the face three times, with the third punch splitting his lower lip in two.
JAYDEN JOSEPH SADOWSKI: GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM
Gladstone father Jayden Joseph Sadowski told Gladstone District Court he stabbed a man multiple times and slashed his car tyres before his own finger was cut off, after he received a Snapchat of his ex-girlfriend being spanked.
Sadowski pleaded guilty in late September to one count of wilful damage, one count of unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm with intent, one count of occasioning bodily harm while in company and one count of burglary.
Sadowski, 20, who became a father six weeks before his sentence date, was ordered to serve seven years’ imprisonment following the melee, which the court heard could have killed the victim if it weren’t for medical intervention.
The court heard he attended a party in Gladstone in 2021 and attacked the host, a 21-year-old Gladstone man, after all four car tyres of the man’s Nissan Patrol utility.
Medical records showed the victim suffered a tension pneumothorax which could have been fatal if left untreated.
Judge Michael Byrne exercised his discretion and did not make a serious violent offender declaration.
He sentenced Sadowski to seven years on the one count of acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, and lesser sentences to the other charges served concurrently.
Parole eligibility was set at the halfway mark of the seven-year sentence.
CHARLIE MARK ADAMS: THREATENING VIOLENCE
Father-of-three Charlie Mark Adams was jailed for a series of offences which culminated in an attempted knifepoint robbery and savage beating of a staff member of a retirement village.
Adams pleaded guilty to threatening violence, enter dwelling with intent by break, enter premises with intent and attempted robbery with actual violence while armed when he appeared in Toowoomba District Court in June 2022.
The incident began on the evening of June 23, 2021, when occupants of a Rockville home, accused the then 25-year-old of looking through their window.
The father of three swung a plank of wood at the home occupants and threw it at them.
Adams then went to the nearby Northridge Haven Retirement Village and forced his way into the unit of a 79-year-old woman and 80-year-old man.
The woman screamed when she found Adams in her kitchen and he fled.
Cutting a hole in a flyscreen window, Adams gained entry to a room where a nursing assistant was and he first threatened her with a knife before assaulting her, slamming her head against a wall and kicking her while she was unconscious.
Adams was sentenced to five years behind bars, with a parole eligibility date set at May 2, 2023 after serving 287 days of presentence custody.
BRYTON PAUL DELANEY
Toowoomba dad of one Bryton Paul Delaney, 30, faced Toowoomba Magistrates Court on July 29 where he was jailed after pleading guilty to a number of offences including possessing a shortened firearm, enter dwelling and commit indictable offence and multiple drug offences.
The court heard Delaney was captured on CCTV while involved in the burglary of a property in Meringandan on May 21, 2021, where a quantity of cash and a gaming console was stolen.
Police executed a search warrant on July 30, 2021 on a motel room where the 30-year-old and his girlfriend were staying.
Along with a quantity of drugs and drug items, police discovered a stolen shortened firearm, ammunition and knuckledusters as well as $1130 suspected to be the proceeds of a crime.
During the search, police also found a video on Delaney’s mobile phone of him brandishing the weapon, making various threats to members of the public.
He was sentenced to 15 months behind bars, but with 364 days of presentence custody declared as time served was immediately eligible for parole.
JOSHUA LASZUK: DEMANDING PROPERTY WITH MENACE
Edens Landing father of three Joshua Laszuk, who violently intimidated and robbed a Quest Apartments concierge in Springfield Central, received a prison sentence when he fronted Beenleigh Magistrates Court in August 2022.
Laszuk pleaded guilty to demanding property with menace, with intent to steal and received a 15-month prison sentence with immediate parole.
The court heard the 40-year-old Laszuk was staying at the hotel and went to the front desk and smashed his hands loudly on the desk after staff caught him smoking in his room.
He paid a $300 deposit and staff said he would not get it back because smoking in rooms violated hotel rules.
Laszuk demanded money from the staff member and said “I’m going to rob you because you’re robbing me”.
The staff member handed over $50 and the defendant snatched it aggressively from him, screamed at him and jumped up onto the desk.
The entire altercation was captured on CCTV security footage. Magistrate Mark Howden said there was no actual violence but it was still frightening.
In August 2021, Laszuk was sentenced in Beenleigh District Court to seven-and-a-half years behind bars for a violent robbery.
He was among four thieves who held a victim hostage for 24 hours and forced them to withdraw upwards of $18,000 from an ATM.
GREGORY BRIAN MICHAEL HYDE: HIGH-RANGE DRINK DRIVING
A North Queensland dad, whose son died after being stabbed, has narrowly avoided jail after drinking two bottles of rum and crashing his car in bizarre circumstances.
Recidivist drink driver Gregory Brian Michael Hyde, 59, pleaded guilty to high-range drunken driving when he appeared in Ingham Magistrates Court in July.
Prosecutor Jordan Theed said police were called to the single-vehicle accident at a Hawkins St address in Ingham in February 2022.
Mr Theed said Hyde, the father of Josh Hyde, who died in Ingham in January 2021, initially refused to provide a specimen of breath but eventually acquiesced.
Hyde is not linked to his son’s death.
Mr Theed said Hyde recorded a blood-alcohol content reading of 0.175 per cent, 3.5 times the legal limit for driving.
Hyde, originally from Ayr, has three convictions for driving under the influence in the last five years, including one for riding a bicycle to buy more grog from a bottle shop.
Defence lawyer Margaret Crowther said her client did not realise it was an offence to be in a vehicle on private property even if it was just around the yard.
Magistrate Scott Luxton said Hyde was saved from a mandatory term of imprisonment for three driving under the influence convictions because one of the offences occurred on a bicycle.
Hyde was convicted, fined $1800 and disqualified from driving for 21 months.
ANTHONY JOHN WINKELMANN: UNLAWFUL USE OF VEHICLE, STEALING
Morayfield father-of-two Anthony John Winkelmann, 59, was punished for driving off with four different cars using “trickery”, while also stealing over $2000 in food and fuel.
Winkelmann pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, 17 counts of stealing, four counts of receiving tainted property and dangerous operation in Maroochydore Magistrates Court in March.
The first theft involved him riding in a Suncoast Cab and tricking the driver into believing that he had a leg problem on December 12, 2019.
Winkelmann asked the driver to retrieve a package from a house for him and once the driver had left the taxi, Winkelmann drove off in it.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Mick Ruddiman said Winkelmann targeted three more strangers where he drove off with their vehicles.
Sgt Ruddiman told the court Winkelmann had also stolen $1890 in food from Coles at Nambour, as well as $983.05 in fuel from different petrol stations across southeast Queensland.
Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist sentenced Winkelmann to 12 months’ prison, to be released on parole on May 3, 2022, and also disqualified him from driving for 12 months. Convictions were recorded.
TRENT WALKER: UNLAWFUL USE OF VEHICLE
Young dad Trent Walker broke into an automotive repair shop to steal a Landcruiser he had already stolen and rammed it through the gates during a month-long crime spree across North Queensland, The Townsville Magistrates Court heard in August 2022.
Walker, 22, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to 15 charges including five counts of unlawful use of vehicle, three counts of entering premises and committing an indictable offence, stealing, obstructing and evading police, possessing drugs, unlicensed driving, and using a stolen number plate.
The court heard Walker had been in and out of prison for a month before he went on the rampage between May 17 and June 21, 2021.
The worst of his crimes was on June 19 when he broke into the Townsville Offroad Centre where three Toyota Landcruisers had been stolen, including one that had no keys which had been in for repairs after it was previously stolen.
Police prosecutor Tim Madsen said Walker rammed his way out, causing “extensive damage to the entrance gates”.
During the crime spree, Walker also broke into homes, and unlawfully used vehicles including acting as a lookout for a vehicle theft in Ayr.
He was also involved in a fuel drive-off, smashing a car window to steal a handbag, refused to stop for police, and jumped through the window of a police car.
Defence lawyer Phil Rennick said his client was the father of a young daughter, had been diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD growing up and was working to attain his Grade 12 certificate.
Magistrate Scott Luxton took into account 50 days already served in custody and jailed him with parole eligibility on April 19, 2023.
Walker’s driver’s licence was also disqualified for a month.
JUSTIN RAYMOND RANDALL: UNLAWFUL USE OF VEHICLE
Logan father-of-two Justin Raymond Randall added to his history of driving stolen vehicles in 2022 when he pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawfully using a vehicle, an evasion offence and possession of dangerous drugs when he faced Beenleigh Magistrates Court in January 2022.
The court heard the former butcher drove stolen vehicles on three occasions in 2021 and 2020.
He had already had a 12-month prison sentence for similar offences.
Randall was charged with evasion after running away from police in August 2021 and was found in possession of 191g of cannabis in October 2021.
Acting magistrate Ross Woodford sentenced Randall to 12 months’ prison and was granted immediate parole after 84 days’ of pre-sentence custody was declared. He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
TONY WILLIAM PAYNE: DEFRAUDING AN INSURER
Coolum father Tony William Payne avoided jail time for trying to defraud WorkCover of nearly $1m when he appeared before Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist in a Sunshine Coast court in April 2022.
The court heard Payne successfully defrauded $1855 between July 7, 2020 and August 17, 2020 and attempted to swindle a further $946,000 from WorkCover in September, 2020.
Payne was sentenced to a nine-month suspended jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to one count of defrauding an insurer and another count of attempting to defraud an insurer.
WorkCover prosecutor Thea Hadok-Quadrio relied on written submissions but suggested a 12-month prison sentence could be suspended.
Mr Stjernqvist imposed the suspended prison sentence for 18 months and Payne was ordered to pay $2500.
MATTHEW DAVID DALY: FRAUDULENTLY RECEIVING PAYMENTS
For two years during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Gatton man Matthew David Daly defrauded the NSW Government, as well as unsuspecting victims, of thousands of dollars by forging documents and bank accounts to falsely claim Covid-19 support payments.
Father-of-one Daly appeared in Toowoomba Magistrates Court in June 2022 when he pleaded guilty to a total of 76 offences, including 57 offences related to fraudulently claiming the government support payments.
The court was told from January 2020 to January 2022 the 37-year-old used the names of friends, as well stolen identification details, to open bank accounts before fraudulently applying for the NSW Government’s Covid-19 relief and recovery fund.
Once the bank accounts received the funds, Daly then transferred the money to himself and his friends.
The court was told Daly was found in possession of a quantity of stolen identifications used to facilitate the fraud when he was arrested on January 7, 2022.
When he was arrested the court was told Daly attempted to escape police custody in an ill-fated attempt to say goodbye to his partner.
Daly was jailed for 18 months, with parole eligibility set at July 7, 2022. He was also ordered to pay $5103 restitution to two individuals who were defrauded during his offending.
MALCOLM CHARLES BRUXNER: POSSESSING CHILD EXPLOITATION MATERIAL
Father-of-three Malcolm Charles Bruxner 56, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child exploitation material when he appeared in Ipswich District Court in August 2022.
The court heard the child exploitation material collection, on his phone, depicted “gross abuse”. Police raided Bruxner’s house in Eastern Heights in October 2020, and found 47 images on his iPhone.
Of those images, 22 were category one (the most severe), seven were category two, and 18 were related non-illegal category three images.
Judge Dennis Lynch noted the most severe of the images “might be regarded as gross abuse of a child” and involved a toddler-aged child.
Defence barrister Justin Thomas said Bruxner had two teenage daughters, who lived with their mother in New South Wales, and a 20-year-old son who lived with Bruxner.
Judge Lynch sentenced him to nine months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for an operational period of 12 months.
DAVID WILLIAM JONES: POSSESSING CHILD EXPLOITATION MATERIAL
Woodridge father of three David William Jones, 45, pleaded guilty to possession of more than 700 child exploitation images when he appeared in Beenleigh District Court in August 2022.
Police raided his Woodridge home in September 2021 where they seized numerous USB devices, SD cards and a laptop.
Jones also handed over his mobile phone and after forensic examination by police, they found over 700 images depicting child sexual imagery.
The court was told the majority of the material was downloaded through a Russian image sharing website and Jones also had correspondence through email with people discussing child exploitation material.
Judge Craig Chowdhry said child exploitation crimes were a serious problem in Australia. “I almost don’t go a week without sentencing a middle-aged man for this,” he said.
He sentenced Jones to a suspended 12-month prison sentence.
WARREN LEWIS BARKER: DANGEROUS DRIVING/UNLAWFUL USE OF VEHICLE
Struggling to re-establish himself in the community and find a job after being released from prison last year, a Toowoomba father of two Warren Lewis Barker found himself back behind bars after leading police on a wild pursuit through the city in a stolen car.
Barker pleaded guilty to 11 offences including dangerous driving, unlawful use of motor vehicles, evading police, disqualified driving and burglary when he faced Toowoomba Magistrates Court in July 2022.
The court heard Barker broke into a Drayton business about 12.30am on July 3 and with a co-accused stole keys to two white dual cab utes.
The pair then attempted to steal an ATM from a Drayton Rd shopping centre, but were unsuccessful, before making off with a box trailer from Rielly St in Torrington.
Police spotted the pair and a chase ensued before stingers were employed.
Police claimed that during the pursuit, Barker’s passenger climbed out into the tray and uncoupled the stolen trailer which crashed into a traffic light.
Barker was sentenced to 15 months in jail, and a parole release date was set for December 5. He was disqualified from driving for two years.
RUSSELL ANDREW WHITE
Cornered in a no-through road while in a stolen car and wanted on numerous warrants, Toowoomba dad Russell Andrew White pointed a gun at police in an attempt to escape arrest.
White pleaded guilty to 22 offences, including six counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, seven counts of stealing and going armed so as to cause fear when he fronted Toowoomba Magistrates Court in July 2022.
The court was told the 39-year-old’s spree began on March 26, 2022, when he was driving a stolen car and committed a fuel drive-off at Blacksoil, and three days later he did the same thing in another stolen car.
White’s offending continued throughout the Darling Downs in April with further thefts of fuel in stolen cars, which culminated on May 6 when White was spotted by police in a fourth stolen car in Harristown.
Recognising White as the driver of the vehicle, who was wanted on a number of warrants, police followed him down Dempsey St.
Realising he was in a no-through road, White then drove at police, producing a black handgun which he held out the vehicle’s window, pointing it at police, who responded in self-defence by firing at the vehicle.
White’s passenger suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound as a result, and he was taken to hospital after White fled.
White was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, with a parole eligibility date of November 9. He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
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