LIST: Townsville thieves or fraudsters recently sentenced in court
A man who stole a scooter while visiting his girlfriend at the hospital after she just had her arm bitten off by a dog was just one of the offenders sentenced for stealing so far this year.
Townsville
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From a man who stole a scooter while visiting his girlfriend who lost an arm at the Townsville University Hospital to another man who was caught swiping from a sex shop, these are the offenders who have been sentenced in court for theft or fraud so far this year.
Corey Dale Geesu: Scooter thief’s dramatic in-court medical episode
Paramedics were called to the courthouse after a man dropped to the ground voicing concerns for his heart, as he was being sentenced to jail for more than 20 drug, theft and property crimes.
Corey Dale Geesu, the boyfriend of Annmarie Walters who had her arm bitten off by her dog, dropped from his chair to the ground groaning about his heart in the middle of sentencing.
Before the medical episode, Geesu had asked for his charges to be transferred to Murri Court, but Magistrate Cathy McLennan rejected the request, saying the sentence wouldn’t change.
Magistrate McLennan acknowledged the difficulties his partner faced, however sentenced him to jail with an immediate parole eligibility date.
Prior to the medical episode, police prosecutor Danny Burke outlined some of the worst of the man’s offending which included the possession of 3.7g of methamphetamine, followed by a theft that occurred less than a week after his girlfriend was attacked by her dog.
The court was told Geesu stole an electric scooter from the Townsville University Hospital on October 17 last year and on November 29 he entered a Belgian Gardens address asking a woman to use her mobile.
Geesu pleaded guilty to 22 offences which included enter a dwelling to commit, stealing a vehicle, possessing drugs, wilful damage, obstruct police and driving disqualified and uninsured.
He was sentenced to 15 months jail with an immediate parole eligibility date, which meant he was taken to the hospital for assessment before going to the Townsville watch house.
Jye Peter Walker: Police gun thief used angle grinder to get Glock
A young man who was involved in stealing a police gun from an unmarked vehicle has been sentenced for the ‘crime spree’ that also saw a range of vehicles broken into, significant goods stolen and a gate rammed through.
Jye Peter Walker appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court via video link on Friday morning with his girlfriend supporting him at the back of court.
Police prosecutor Sam Stewart said the worst of the crime spree that involved 18-year-old Walker, was the police weapon stolen from a car.
“The defendant was an active member of a party of four people attending the premises to essentially raid different storage areas in a set of units.”
Mr Stewart said Walker had provided the angle grinder that was used in order to cut the wires in the police car to steal the lockbox where the Glock had been secured, which he made full admissions to police to when he was arrested.
Defence lawyer Phil Rennick told Magistrate Susan Warrington she was dealing with an “18-year-old with no criminal history”.
“He’s remorseful and assisted police and told them all about it,” he said.
He pleaded guilty to six break and enter charges, two enter premises with intent to commit and one charge each of unlawful possession of weapon and unlawful use of motor vehicle in company.
The young man was sentenced to three months jail and two years’ probation, with the 81 days already spent in custody declared as time served.
He will be released on February 24. Convictions were recorded
Andrew James Ellis: Cupid’s Cabin $69 thief
A man who was found with an extensive stash of drugs like oxycodone, methamphetamine and marijuana was also dealt with for stealing a sex toy from a business claiming he was “too embarrassed” to make the purchase himself.
Andrew James Ellis appeared in Townsville Supreme Court on Tuesday morning after police executed a search warrant at his Ayr property on September 12 last year.
Crown prosecutor Thomasina Papadimitriou said the man’s first offence started at Cupid’s Cabin in Townsville where he stole a sex toy at the value of $69.95.
The court was told the man who was 37 at the time was “too embarrassed” to make the purchase and tried to pay for it the following day.
Defence barrister Tom Hancock instructed by Purcell Taylor Lawyers said the Brisbane-born man who moved to Ayr and worked in carpentry had used meth throughout his life.
He said the man had experienced trauma while growing up and lost his father to cancer while behind bars and was unable to attend the funeral.
Ellis pleaded guilty to two counts of drug supply charges, five counts of drug possession and one count of stealing.
He was sentenced to 12 months jail, suspended for an operational period of 15 months and will be out on parole immediately.
Luke Raymond Balderson and Justine Margaret Dalrymple: Coppers thief couple
An underground copper operation which resold over $65,000 worth of stolen copper in Townsville has been unearthed - and the mum and dad behind it named.
Luke Raymond Balderson, 34, was described as the brains behind the copper flipping enterprise during his sentencing in Townsville Magistrates Court on Thursday, June 12.
The court heard when the scrap metal yards started to suspect his copper was stolen, Balderson enlisted his partner, Justine Margaret Dalrymple, to start selling for him.
Balderson pleaded guilty to multiple crimes including fraud, possession of tainted property, and receiving tainted property, for criminal activity police believe stretched from late 2022 to 2025.
In total, police charged the father-of-four with stealing 4.2 tonnes of copper and profiting $45,597 from the stolen goods.
Acting magistrate Raimund Heggie said the act of stealing copper was “unacceptable and intolerable” because of the huge impact it had on community infrastructure.
Balderson was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment.
Partner-in-crime Justine Margaret Dalrymple pleaded guilty to dishonestly gaining a sum of money and possessing copper wire suspected of being tainted property, crimes which police believe occurred between May 2023 and February 2025.
The crimes involved Dalrymple selling 1.6 tonnes of stolen copper to Action Metals for $20,236 profit.
Police also executed a search warrant on a storage unit Dalrymple had in a National Storage Shed yard, where they found approximately 700kg of copper wire.
Dalrymple was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, wholly suspended for two years.
Rodney William Forno and Ashleigh Jayde Gyorosi: Sex scheme robbery at Coles
A couple punched and stabbed a man who they had lured to a shopping centre after making a deal for sex in a wild daylight robbery.
Rodney William Forno, 44, and Ashleigh Jayde Gyorosi, 33, were arrested after the attack at a busy Coles North Ward car park on January 22 last year.
Prosecution officer Cassandra Nitz told the Townsville District Court the “plan was quite sinister” as the woman had posed under a fake name on a classified website, and made a deal with a 55-year-old man to provide sexual services in exchange for cash.
The deal was 30 minutes for $250.
“They met at a car park at the city’s Woolworths and she asked him to drive her to North Ward to buy alcohol,” Ms Nitz said.
The court was told the victim drew money from an ATM and bought alcohol for Gyorosi but grew suspicious, so he apologised “for wasting her time” and left the shopping centre.
Forno approached the man and said he owed her money for her time and that he was “her pimp”.
Gyorosi slapped the victim’s mobile out of his hand before Forno started punching the man in the head and the woman pulled a knife out of her pocket and stabbed the victim’s finger, the court was told.
The victim offered money for the woman to return his phone as it had his licence and bank cards inside, while shoppers called emergency services.
Ms Nitz said police who later arrested the duo found the bloodstained cash on them and that the victim suffered facial injuries and had to get stitches to his finger.
Defence barrister Jessica Hine who represented Gyorosi said the woman had violence inflicted upon her throughout her life which led her to drug use and correlated with certain points in her criminal history.
Defence barrister Kellie Mythen who represented Forno said he too grew up witness to violence and became addicted to drugs.
“He instructed that in 2003 he was involved in a car accident, his friend who was driving ultimately died as a result of injuries and (Forno) suffered injuries to his back and legs,” Ms Mythen said.
The pair pleaded guilty to armed robbery with violence while in company.
Forno was sentenced to four and a half years jail and given a parole eligibility date of May 22, as 324 days of pre-sentence custody was declared as time already served.
Gyorosi was sentenced to three years jail and given an immediate parole release date.
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