Leisha Appleyard said stealing from a car was ‘what you do in Norlane’

A Norlane woman told police she was “looking for lizards” when she was caught trying to steal from a car.

Leisha Appleyard told police it was "what you do in Norlane" when she was caught trying to steal from a car. Picture: Facebook.

A woman caught breaking into a car told police it’s “what you do in Norlane” before she threw an egg at an officer.

Leisha Appleyard, 34, pleaded guilty at the Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday to attempting to steal from a motor vehicle and assaulting a police officer.

In December 2020, police saw Appleyard inside a vehicle parked at a North Shore carpark as three others stood outside, the court heard.

All four were wearing head lamps while they searched the car.

As police moved in to check on the vehicle, Appleyard and a co-accused woman attempted to walk towards a nearby railway line.

As one of the officers approached, the co-accused woman pushed him on to the tracks and Appleyard threw an egg at him.

When asked by police what she was doing in the car, Appleyard told them she was “looking for coins and s---”.

“It’s what you do in Norlane,” she told officers.

Leisha Appleyard told police it was "what you do in Norlane" when she was caught trying to steal from a car. Picture: Facebook.

“I f----d up, honest, we got narky, s--- happens. That’s how it is.”

Asked why she resisted the officer, Appleyard said there was “a group of males and me and he’s going towards a woman”.

In court on Friday, Appleyard, who was representing herself, said she had been in prison for five years and walked away from the officers during the December incident to “stay out of trouble”.

She said her co-accused were “all on drugs”.

Appleyard added the head lamps were for “lizard hunting”.

Magistrate Peter Mellas said it was the job of police to “get involved” and dismissed claims an officer targeted a female co-accused.

“The police probably, and most likely and justifiably, thought that something was up and got involved. The real issue is the way in which things went from there,” Mr Mellas said.

Referring to the claim that breaking into cars was what happens in Norlane, Mr Mellas said it was “not how people view Norlane”.

“I have lots of friends who grew up there … they all pretty much talk about a place where people look after each other,” he said.

“There’s a reason it’s gone the way it has.”

Appleyard was convicted and fined $750.

Originally published as Leisha Appleyard said stealing from a car was ‘what you do in Norlane’