Georgia Makaruk: St Clair woman convicted after stealing trail bikes from Mount Annan home

“They have your face on camera ... but I’m not going to say anything”. That was the Snapchat message sent as a warning to a woman who broke into a home and stole two trail bikes.

Georgia Makaruk has been sentenced to a 14 month community correction order.

A woman who helped a friend break into a home in a failed attempt to steal two trail bikes has been warned to turn her life around.

Georgia Makaruk, who turned 30 this week, fronted Picton Local Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to breaking and entering and stealing property.

Her cooffender, Ben Miller, was sentenced last year - after pleading guilty to the same charge - to a 14 month community correction order.

According to court documents, Miller was working for a business which was contracted to renovate a home on Moyengully Ave, Mt Annan.

About 1am on January 12, 2022, Makaruk and Miller drove and parked about 600m away from the home, and both entered the house through an unlocked roller door.

Georgia Makaruk was involved in breaking into a Mount Annan home and stealing two trail bikes.

They moved two KTM trail bikes out of the garage before a witness saw them putting one in the back of a van.

Court documents state the passer-by yelled out and Miller started the other bike up and rode away while Makaruk drove off in the van, but not before the witness took a picture of the registration.

Police soon arrived and found one of the bikes in a creek bed before they contacted the house owner, who was away.

Officers then spoke to the van’s registered owner, who revealed they had sold it and provided them with the details.

Then, at 8.15am that morning, the victim’s father-in-law was driving along Moyengully Ave when he spotted the van parked in the driveway of the home that had been broken into.

He parked the van in and confronted Miller about stealing the bikes, who eventually admitted, “Yeah mate, I f---ed up. I have it, I will return it”, court documents tendered in Makaruk’s sentencing state.

Police found a message sent to Makaruk that said: "Apparently they have your face on camera also, but I'm not going to say anything."

Police soon arrived, and Miller told them he only knew the woman with him as Sarah, but officers found a message on Snapchat sent to Makaruk.

It read, “I’m done, they have blocked me in so I can’t go anywhere and the cops r [sic] on their way. Apparently they have your face on camera also, but I’m not going to say anything”.

Makaruk, who lives in St Clair, was charged three weeks later.

In a letter to the court, Makaruk said she was “deeply ashamed and embarrassed of myself” and explained some of the challenges she faced.

She wrote that she had been suffering from severe mental health issues and was also grieving the loss of a close friend.

“In no way are these excuses for my behaviour, just an insight into my negative state of mind at the time,” Makaruk wrote.

In sentencing, Magistrate David Degnan noted the issues of “parity” as Miller had already been sentenced and he had been the “main instigator”.

“I don’t know who you hang around with, but if you wanna hang around with people like this and you come back before the court…you will end up in jail,” he warned Makaruk.

“Do not come back. Do not involve yourself in this type of offending again because, most likely, you will go to jail.”

Makaruk was convicted and sentenced to a 14-month community correction order.