Karen Yerbury: NSW police officer found guilty of concealing serious indictable offence
A highly experienced serving NSW Police officer has learned her fate after a court found her guilty of concealing a serious indictable offence.
St George Shire Standard
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A senior sergeant of NSW Police has been convicted of concealing a serious indictable offence after a court found she covered up the attempted theft of her car, purportedly for an insurance payout.
In December 2018 Karen Yerbury, her daughter Regan Yerbury, Regan’s athletics coach Gavin Dunn and Dunn’s associate Glenn Stone were charged with attempting to fake the theft of Karen’s car for an insurance payout in May 2017.
It was further alleged Karen Yerbury, Dunn and Stone successfully faked the car’s theft on their second alleged attempt in February 2018 and Karen Yerbury subsequently received the $30,571.17 insurance payout.
A three-year court saga has now come to a close after Karen Yerbury was found guilty by Magistrate Julie Huber at Downing Centre Local Court of concealing a serious indictable offence.
She was further found not guilty of attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage by deception, actually dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and a second count of concealing a serious indictable offence.
Ms Huber said the court did not have sufficient evidence to prove Karen Yerbury knew of the alleged plots to take her car before they occurred.
However, she was found guilty of one count of concealing an indictable offence after Gavin Dunn pleaded guilty to attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage by deception in relation to the first attempted theft of her car.
Ms Huber convicted Karen Yerbury and sentenced her to a 12-month community corrections order.
Ms Huber also convicted Dunn and sentenced him to a two-year community corrections order with a $1500 fine after she dismissed further charges of knowingly directing a criminal group, stealing a motor vehicle and dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
Karen Yerbury’s daughter and former NRL cheerleader Regan Yerbury was also found not guilty of attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage by deception in relation to the first alleged attempted theft of the car. It was not alleged that Regan had any involvement in the second alleged attempted theft.
The police charge specifically alleged Regan Yerbury had planned the alleged attempted theft with her mother – so when her mother was found not guilty of participating in the alleged attempted theft, Ms Huber said the charge against Regan Yerbury “must fail”.
“Regan was naive and the situation with Gavin Dunn snowballed,” Ms Huber said in her judgment.
“There’s insufficient evidence to show anyone told Karen the vehicle was being stolen prior to her contacting the insurance company (in 2017).
“Even if one could infer Karen became aware, I’m not satisfied she ever participated in the joint criminal enterprise and the charge (against Regan) must fail.”
Regan Yerbury subsequently posted a story to her Instagram captioned “not guilty negronis!”.
All charges against Glenn Stone - including two charges of attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage and actually dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage - were dropped but he will be sentenced on October 1 for unrelated matters to which he had previously pleaded guilty.
Those charges include one count of possessing unauthorised ammunition and three counts of unauthorised weapon possession.
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