Maloneys Beach man Charles Bower charged larceny
A south coast man has faced court after stealing a mountain bike, with the new theft being his third already this year.
The South Coast News
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A south coast man cycled away from court moments after he was punished for stealing a mountain bike.
Charles Bower, 51, of Maloneys Beach, faced his third larceny charge of in less than four months after the incident in Catalina on March 4.
He faced Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to one count of larceny.
The court heard Bower committed the offence while serving a community corrections order for the two other larceny charges.
Police documents tendered to Batemans Bay Local Court stated Bower stole the mountain bike in the early hours of March 4.
Bower walked to Catalina Country Club where he saw a mountain bike locked to a bike rack.
“The accused removed the green chain from the mountain bike by unknown means,” agreed facts stated.
The victim returned to pick his bike up, having left it at the club overnight, to discover it was gone.
He visited Batemans Bay Police Station where he provided pictures of the bike.
Bower visited the police station the same afternoon for an unrelated matter, and police immediately recognised him from the CCTV footage provided by the country club.
“The accused was wearing the identical clothing at the time of the stealing incident only seven hours earlier,” agreed facts stated.
“Police also have dealt with the accused on numerous occasions in 2023 and have no doubt the person depicted in the CCTV is the accused.”
Officers visited Bower’s home where they discovered the stolen bike sitting at his door, which they immediately seized.
Officers then presented Bower with a court attendance notice for larceny.
Bower’s solicitor, Matilda Bogart, said the theft was an “accident”.
“He thought it was his and he tried to retrieve it,” she said.
Magistrate Doug Dick said there would be no leniency given, as this was the third larceny charge Bower had faced this year.
Mr Dick also recognised Bower was serving a CCO at the time of the theft.
“This CCO is clearly not working,” Mr Dick said,
“It doesn’t make sense to impose the same orders on a man who keeps breaching them.”
Mr Dick ended the CCO running for the two previous larceny charges Bower was facing and replaced them with $500 fines.
Bower was also fined a further $500 for the new larceny charge.
“I’m hitting your pocket hard this time,” Mr Dick said.
Police have returned the stolen bike to the victim.
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