Budgewoi: Anthony Edward Beckett pleads guilty to porch piracy, shoplifting and B&E
A thief began his one-man crime spree pinching parcels from a woman’s front step before shoplifting, breaking and entering and finally intimidating a police officer. Read the details here.
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A man was quick to confess “yep, that’s me” when shown CCTV images of him pinching parcels from a woman’s front step.
A court has heard the offence was the first in a string of thefts, which culminated with the 47-year-old throwing wet toilet paper at a CCTV camera while in custody and threatening a police officer.
Anthony Edward Beckett, of Redfern, appeared via video link at Wyong Local Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to three counts of larceny, breaking and entering and intimidating a police officer.
An agreed set of facts states Beckett was captured on CCTV picking up two parcels from a woman’s doorstep at Budgewoi about 2pm on December 8.
Beckett made off with a $94.95 Kookai woman’s shirt.
Police conducted a search warrant at a property on Scenic Drive on December 20 and arrested Beckett who was shown still images taken from the woman’s CCTV security system.
“Yep, that’s me. I remember now, it was a green shirt,” Beckett told officers.
About 11am on Boxing Day Beckett stole a $200 pair of ASICS sneakers from Sports First at Lake Haven.
He went back the following day and stole a pair of slides and two pairs of white ankle socks.
A staff member saw him and told a security guard who followed him out to the bus stop where he saw Beckett wearing the slides and socks.
Beckett handed back the items before boarding a bus.
On December 30 Beckett broke into The Swordfish Co seafood restaurant at Budgewoi about 3am.
He was captured on CCTV using a crowbar to prise open the cash register but it was empty.
He then stole an Apple iPhone and a six-pack of Corona beer.
“The offender is then seen on CCTV entering the office area and looking through an Esky on the floor,” the facts state.
“Inside the Esky was the day’s cash takings of approximately $3000 concealed in a white paper bag, as night staff did not have access to the main safe.”
Beckett was seen in the CCTV footage wearing the same white ASICS sneakers he stole from Lake Haven four days earlier.
Police finally tracked Beckett down on January 3 and he was taken to Wyong Police Station and charged.
About 5.30pm an officer saw Beckett sitting in one of the holding cells and wet toilet paper covering a nearby CCTV camera.
The officer asked “Why are you putting toilet paper on the lens of the camera?” and Beckett replied “stop laughing at me c*nt, you’ve been laughing at me all day”.
Beckett then started screaming at the officer that he was going to “smash your head in” unless he got him an ambulance.
Beckett was adjourned to Gosford District Court on November 7 to fix a sentence date.
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