Adam Davis admitted to breaking into Burradoo building site to steal $32,000 excavator

A father-of-three has pleaded guilty to breaking into a Southern Highlands building site to steal a 1.7 tonne excavator after police caught him trying to drive off in the $32,000 machine.

A father-of-three has pleaded guilty to breaking into a Southern Highlands building site to steal a 1.7 tonne excavator after police caught him trying to drive off in the $32,000 machine.

On Tuesday, Moss Vale Court heard Adam Mitchell Davis, 30, entered guilty pleas to entering a building with intent to commit an indictable offence, take and drive conveyance, and committing an offence with a previous conviction.

At around 7.45pm on January 19, court documents show police were patrolling on Moss Vale Rd in Burradoo when they saw the Heckenberg resident driving a Kubota excavator on a residential building site.

Karl Humphries and Adam Davis have pleaded guilty to breaking into a building site in Burradoo to steal a 1.7 tonne excavator. Picture: Google Maps

According to police facts, Davis was driving the 1.7 tonne machine towards a forced opening in the temporary fencing securing the site on Links Rd in Burradoo.

The facts state Davis’ co-accused, 35-year-old Karl Humphries, was standing beside a white Ford ute with a trailer attached. Police approached both men, who told officers they had attended the site to collect the excavator for its ‘owner’.

Davis and Humphries told police a man called ‘Tim’ has asked them to move the excavator, which he claimed to own, from the building site and relocate it to Campbelltown.

Although both men maintained the man owned the excavator, they could not provide any business details or phone numbers to corroborate their statements.

Documents tendered to the court state Humphries had been offered $250 to retrieve the excavator and had engaged Davis because he had previous experience with operating heavy machinery.

When police asked for the key to the excavator, Davis pulled a universal key for Kubota excavators out of his pocket and handed it over.

Police saw the temporary fencing had been lifted up from the heavy blocks and pushed open to gain entry to the building site, and the facts show officers spotted a cut metal cable and padlock lying near where the excavator had been locked up.

Humphries told police he didn’t use the gate because they were “told to go through the fence.”

At the time of the thwarted theft, the court documents show both Humphries and Davis were serving sentences for previous convictions relating to aggravated break and enter offences.

Adam Davis was busted in the driver’s seat of a stolen excavator on a building site on Links Rd on January 19, 2022. Picture: Google Maps

The court heard Davis was unable to attend Moss Vale court because he recently tested positive for Covid. A sentencing assessment report has been ordered for the father-of-three, who will return to Moss Vale court on June 14 to learn his fate.

The court heard Humphries has pleaded guilty to entering a building site with the intent of committing an indictable offence, taking and driving conveyance without the consent of the owner, possessing housebreaking and vehicle break in tools, destruction of property, and committing an indictable crime with a previous conviction.

He will be sentenced on Thursday, April 28 at Picton Court. The court heard Humphries’ sentence will be used to guide the outcome of Davis’ matter.