Merrylands concreter Adham Shahrouk jailed after stealing Fairfield RSL war memorial plaques

A Merrylands concreter has been jailed for stealing brass plaques, war memorabilia and honour boards – worth more than $80K – from two war memorials just days ahead of Remembrance Day.

A Merrylands concreter has admitted to stealing $80,000 worth of war memorial plaques and memorabilia in a cheap bid to fuel his “raging” drug addiction, a court was told.

Adham Shahrouk appeared at Fairfield Local Court on Thursday where Magistrate Jason Ong sentenced him to 28 months jail with a 12 month non-parole period.

Shahrouk had pleaded guilty to charges including two counts each of wilfully damaging or defacing protected property, destroying or damaging property, larceny, possessing property suspected of being stolen and one count of driving recklessly and not stopping during a police pursuit.

He was also charged over a break and enter incident in February last year, as well as possessing a prohibited drug in March last year.

Court documents stated that just after 1.45am on November 8, police were led on a short but dangerous high speed chase through Sydney’s southwest after a white Toyota Camry failed to stop while driving along The Horsley Drive.

War memorial plaques were stolen from the Bruce Short Memorial Garden. Picture: Rohan Kelly

The value of the stolen plaques and memorabilia was $80K. Picture: Rohan Kelly

CCTV footage captured the moment the sedan ploughed into a brick wall shopfront on the corner of Station St and The Boulevard, Fairfield Heights before bursting into flames.

Shahrouk was pulled from the car and treated at the scene before being transferred to Liverpool Hospital under police guard with foot and leg injuries.

The items were stolen just days before Remembrance Day. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Fire and Rescue crews extinguished the blaze, with officers locating 20 brass war memorial plaques inside the car, the documents state.

Shahrouk was arrested and has been in police custody since.

Inquiries revealed Shahrouk had stolen a number of brass plaques, war memorabilia, and honour boards – worth more than $80,000 – from two war memorials belonging to the Fairfield RSL just days ahead of Remembrance Day.

Shahrouk’s solicitor Zawat Zreika, of Zreika and Associates, told the court the theft was not motivated by “hate” for any particular group.

Shahrouk stole the plaques and memorabilia to sell for money to fund his drug addiction, the court heard. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Ms Zreika said her client was grappling with a “raging drug addiction”. She said his decision to steal the plaques was an ill-fated attempt to fuel that addiction.

However this is not the first time Shahrouk has stolen items.

In February 2024, Shahrouk was arrested after ransacking his neighbour’s home while they were on holidays – stealing several items worth hundreds of dollars before pawning them off for money, court documents revealed.

Ms Zreika said her client had been sober for some time but relapsed after his mother died early in 2024. She said his troubled childhood also contributed to his current situation.

Shahrouk will be eligible for parole on November 7, 2025 and must abide by a community correction order once paroled.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months commencing the day he is released.