Jodie Whitby: Chipping Norton mother steals $13k from Sylvania Crest Hotel poker machines
A duo, carrying stolen keys to poker machines at a south Sydney hotel, thought they had carried out an elaborate $13,000 sting. However, the criminal activities were all recorded on CCTV.
St George Shire Standard
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An unemployed mother has admitted to stealing more than $13,000 in cash from poker machines at a hotel in Sydney’s south.
Jodie Whitby, 36, appeared in Sutherland Local Court on Monday where she pleaded guilty to five charges of theft, receiving stolen property and entering a building with intent to commit an indictable offence.
Agreed facts tendered to court said poker machines keys were stolen during an armed robbery of the Crest Hotel in Sylvania on March 3.
Meanwhile, surveillance footage revealed two people entered the hotel and gaming room on July 15 shortly after 1.37am.
Police identified them as Whitby and Ghevont Achadjian, who lived with Whitby at the time in Chipping Norton. He has also pleaded guilty to the offences.
CCTV captured what the pair were each wearing, which included blue medical face masks, while they walked to the gaming room, documents state.
Once inside, they appeared to pretend to play a poker machine while they fiddled with it.
Police said Achadjian grabbed the cash dispenser and opened it up before removing $7800, according to documents.
The machine went into “fault mode” and alerted a staff member who approached the pair.
After a short conversation, Whitby left the room before Achadjian followed her a short time later.
They left the hotel and got into a car, registered in the name of Whitby’s mother.
On July 28, Whitby made two purchases at Kmart inside Southgate shopping centre before she walked to the nearby Crest Hotel where she met Achadjian inside the gaming room.
The pair sat at a poker machine where they stayed for several minutes before Whitby went to play another machine, documents said.
Police said $5310 was removed from the cash dispenser of a machine before the pair quickly left the hotel about 7.11pm.
Police viewed the hotel’s CCTV footage, which showed some of the offending, documents said.
Police went to the pair’s Chipping Norton home to execute a search warrant on August 5.
They were arrested and officers seized the clothing they wore during the theft, as well as a set of stolen keys from the hotel.
The pair were taken to Liverpool Police Station where Whitby was charged with receiving stolen property, two counts of entering a building with intent to commit an indictable offence and two counts of larceny of more than $5000.
Achadjian was charged with seven offences and pleaded guilty during a previous court appearance.
The court heard Whitby was on bail, participating in a drug rehabilitation program and had a “very limited criminal history” while Achadjian was in custody.
Whitby and Achadjian’s cases were adjourned for sentencing on November 17.
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