Cory Eagleston: Grieving Dubbo man to remain behind bars after stealing $13,000 worth of goods

A Dubbo man has learnt his fate after stealing goods from a local plumbing company. Here’s how it unfolded.

Cory Eagleston appeared via audio visual link in Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday, October 5.

A Dubbo man grieving the loss of his ex-partner stole more than $13,000 worth of goods in a bid to sell them to feed his ice addiction, a court has heard.

Cory Eagleston, 34, appeared in Dubbo Local Court via audio visual link from Bathurst Correctional Centre after he was arrested on the morning of June 15 this year.

He was charged with five offences, including larceny, intentionally or recklessly damage property, enter building or land with intent to commit indictable offence, take and drive conveyance, and drive motor vehicle on road during disqualification period.

Dubbo Local Court.

According to agreed facts, Eagleston cut through a metal fence about 4am the day of his arrest to access an industrial shed on Douglas Mawson Drive in Dubbo.

After gathering goods, he placed $3500 worth of copper cable in the tray of a Ford Ranger which was owned by a plumbing business.

“Stored inside the vehicle at the time was a significant amount of Milwaukee power tools, an SP toolbox and various other tools, totalling approximately $10,000” agreed facts reveal.

“On the rear tray of the vehicle was a generator.”

Eagleston located the vehicle’s keys a short time later, before ramming through a locked gate and in an attempt to “avoid detection”, he drove along rural backroads from Dubbo towards Tooraweenah.

He eventually stopped at a property on Yootha Road in Tooraweenah, parking the Ford Ranger in a large shed and unloading the items into another vehicle.

Later that morning, employees from the plumbing business noticed the vehicle had been stolen, “along with damage and other stolen items”.

After accessing the vehicle’s tracking device, police were contacted and alerted to the property in Tooraweenah.

Officers attended the address a short time later, and located the Ford Ranger.

After declaring a crime scene at the property, police found Eagleston and several others inside the house, with officers asking whether anyone knew about the stolen vehicle.

“I did it. I did it. I stole it,” Eagleston told police.

He was arrested and made “full admissions” to stealing the Ford Ranger and the tools, before he was taken to Gilgandra Police Station.

It was later revealed Eagleston’s licence was disqualified at the time of the offence.

On Wednesday, Eagleston’s defence lawyer, Zoe Huijer explained the difficulties faced by Eagleston after being released from custody in April this year.

She revealed Eagleston’s ex-partner had recently passed away and as a result “he fell back into drug use”.

“He instructs [me] he has been using ice for the last 10 years and at the time [of the offence] he began using it again,” Ms Huijer said.

Despite Magistrate Darryl Pearce’s confusion over Eagleston’s solution to feed his ice habit, Ms Huijer told the court there wasn’t similar offending on her client’s record.

She further explained a sentencing assessment report worked in his favour.

“[It] not only indicates his remorse [but] insight into why the offending occurred,” Ms Huijer said.

Magistrate Pearce described each of the charges before the court as “serious” but accepted the defence’s subjective case, noting the loss of Eagleston’s ex-partner and the subsequent downfall.

“The defendant has by his plea of guilty acknowledged what he has done, showed remorse, he knew what he did was wrong,” Magistrate Pearce said.

“He has shown some insight into what he has done.”

Ultimately, Magistrate Pearce was satisfied that there was no alternative other than a full time jail sentence, highlighting a need to protect the community.

Eagleston was sentenced to two years behind bars, and is eligible for parole on December 15 next year.