Man faces court for spending spree on stolen bank card

After swiping a wallet from a trolley in a Grafton shopping centre, a 43-year-old went on a spree of liquor and jewellery, a court has heard

A MACLEAN man that stole a wallet from a trolley and then went on a spending spree has been sentenced.

Clinton David Torrens, 43, appeared in Maclean Local Court last week where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to larceny, three charges of dishonestly obtain property by deception and high range drink driving.

According to court documents, at 11am on May 7 this year a woman was at Grafton Shoppingworld with her husband’s bank card to do some shopping.

While at Millers clothing store the victim made a purchase before she put her wallet in a trolley and went to Big W. After about 10 minutes in that store the victim realised her wallet was missing, and immediately cancelled her bank card via the bank’s app.

The police facts state that Torrens was at the shopping centre at the same time and was captured on CCTV footage entering EB Games, using the card of the woman’s husband to purchase a $49.95 game before leaving the store at 11.20am.

Court documents reveal CCTV footage captured Torrens then entering Dan Murphy’s where he spent $50.99 on Jim Beam. Torrens is then seen to enter Proud’s Jewellers at 11.25am and spent $98.50 on the victim’s card before leaving.

Meanwhile the victim had managed to contact her husband and told him to cancel his card, which he did immediately. The man then told his wife the card had been used in three transactions in the time the victim had left Millers until the card was locked.

Grafton Shoppingworld centre management was contacted by the victim and security located Torrens in a car in the carpark a short time later.

Both victim’s bank cards were found on the dash of the vehicle Torrens was in, and police were contacted and CCTV footage was obtained.

On May 15 police spoke with Torrens who made full admissions to taking the wallet and using the bank cards.

The court also heard that three months later at about 2.35pm on August 28 police saw a Holden Commodore travelling along Yamba Rd at James Creek overtake another car in excess of the 100km/h sign posted speed limit. The agreed police facts state the overtaking manoeuvre was erratic and appeared unsafe due to oncoming vehicles, and police did a U-turn to stop the vehicle on Yamba Rd near the Pacific Highway Harwood Bridge exit.

Torrens was the only occupant of the vehicle and after he returned a positive breath sample was arrested and taken to Maclean Police Station where he told police he had consumed a 750ml bottle of Tawny Port at Maclean Hotel between 9am and 1pm.

Breath analysis returned a reading of 0.192, and while at the station smelt strongly of liquor and kept putting his head down and shutting his eyes, appearing to fall asleep while waiting for the breath analysis results.

In Maclean Local Court last week Torrens was convicted and sentenced by magistrate Kathy Crittenden to an intensive correction order for nine months, and a community correction order for a period of 18 months to commence on November 26, 2020.

Originally published as