Dawn Ede and Bruce Tille facing hefty compo claim after early morning heist

A couple are facing criminal charges after allegedly breaking into and robbing a construction company office on Christmas Day.

A couple of alleged Christmas crooks have faced Wollongong Local Court charged with entering and breaking out of a dwelling with the intention to destroy or damage and breaking out and aggravated break and enter to commit a serious indictable offence.

Dawn Ede and her de facto partner and co-accused Bruce Tille are accused of breaking into and stealing $8000 of items from MODCO Constructions at 38 Atchison St, near the Wollongong CBD.

Dawn Ede is alleged to have broken into and stolen from MODCO Constructions on Christmas morning 2021 with de facto partner Bruce Tille. Picture: Facebook

The duo was allegedly captured approaching the under-construction building by Wollongong City Council CCTV shortly before 1am on Christmas morning.

Soon after they were seen on security footage inside the basement of the site before making their way to level 18 where the MODCO Constructions office is located, according to court documents.

Mr Tille allegedly attempted to jimmy open the glass entrance, before smashing a glass window allowing Ms Ede, 30, to gain access to the office and let Mr Tille in.

They are then alleged to have nicked a waterproof thickness testing instrument, a small backpack, a laptop and a Makita tool bag and batteries before leaving with the total stolen items valued around $8000.

At 10am, MODCO Constructions altered the police of the break and enter which led to the NSW Forensic Services Group attending to survey the scene.

The court notes indicated police were able to identify Mr Tille due to his distinctive Southern Cross facial tattoo and Ms Ede due to her distinctive pinkish-red hair and tattoos.

Bruce Tille is alleged to have broken into and stolen from MODCO Constructions on Christmas morning 2021 with de facto partner Dawn Ede. Picture: Facebook

On Thursday evening, police from Wollongong Command were informed of the whereabouts of the couple before attending a unit at 4 Bligh St, Wollongong.

There was no response to the knocks of police, but after receiving further confirmation the alleged robbers were inside, they tried to force their way in when they heard a male’s voice and within seconds Mr Tille opened the door – wearing an identical white t-shirt with red sleeves that he was seen in on the CCTV footage, according to court documents.

Mr Tille, who the court was told had recently finished parole, handed over keys to a garage at the block where police soon found the allegedly stolen items which were seized and taken to

Both applied for bail, however, only Ms Ede, who has no fixed address and has previously faced charges of possessing a prohibited weapon without a permit to which she had to serve a 12-month corrections order, was successful.

Ms Ede is to have no contact with her co-accused, report to Wollongong police three times a week and not leave her home between 9am and 6am.

Registrar West stated Mr Tille was “not assisted” by his prior record which includes 18 convictions dating back to 2001 and given “multiple” past bail breaches and failure to attend court decided against granting him bail.

Mr Tille will be back in court on January 10 with Ms Ede to face her charges in court the following day.