North Ryde man says he can’t recall bizarre vending machine thefts because he was ‘high on ice’
A man who broke into a series of train station vending machines in Sydney’s in West Ryde and Rhodes told police he can’t remember committing the acts because he was high on ice and HIV medication at the time, a court has heard.
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A Sydney man who broke into a series of train station vending machines told police he can’t remember committing the acts because he was high on ice and HIV medication at the time, a court has heard.
Spiro Akon, 48, of North Ryde, was charged with three counts of larceny and three counts of destroying and damaging property after several alleged thefts at West Ryde and Rhodes train stations last year.
Akon failed to appear at Burwood Local Court on Monday, yet his matter was heard and he was convicted of all six charges.
Police facts tendered to the court said the unemployed man who lives on $500 a fortnight in Centrelink payments first broke into a phone accessories vending machine at West Ryde railway station last May.
Akon along with his small black dog Henry went to West Ryde railway station after 3am on May 4, 2019, according to court documents.
The police facts state he walked towards a vending machine, owned by electrical accessories vending machine company Powerpod, and jimmied open the door where he took $680 worth of items including premium headphones, speaker power banks, adaptors, SIM cards and even a USB Fan.
Last June, Akon went to Rhodes railway station, again with his dog, just before 4am and attempted to access a coke vending machine on the main concourse but was unsuccessful, the court documents said.
Police said he then walked to platform one and tried to jimmy a Powerpod vending machine before attempting to rip the bottom part of it open with his hands.
Reaching into the machine, he managed to pull out the cash box before discovering it was empty and threw it in the bin as he left the station.
Four months later Akon went back to West Ryde Railway station and broke into another vending machine where he stole $215 worth of goods including lightning cables, premium headphones and adaptors, the court heard.
In late October, he returned to Rhodes station and stole $310 cash from a vending machine’s cash box.
Following inquiries, police searched his North Ryde home just before 10am last Wednesday.
Police fact sheets, tendered in court, reveal Akon had seen footage of himself on the news and called Ryde police and told them it was him.
In a police interview, officers showed Akon stills from CCTV footage which he then admitted was himself but he told police he did not remember committing the offences saying he was on HIV medication and ice at the time.
The case has been adjourned to March 2 at Burwood Local Court.