Luke Morris: Queensland man stole $500 dollhouse, tea set from Kidstuff in panic
A former blueberry farmer has fronted court after driving home a $500 dollhouse from boutique toy store without paying for it.
Wentworth Courier
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A bizarre tale has ended with a criminal conviction after a Queensland man, living at a Shangri-La Hotel, flew to Sydney to face judgment for stealing a dollhouse from a high-end toy store in the eastern suburbs.
Luke Jon Morris, 34, was sentenced for stealing property to the value of $500 at Waverley Local Court on Wednesday.
According to facts tendered to court, about 3pm on May 22, 2021, Morris walked into Kidstuff toy store at Westfield Eastgardens by pushing a trolley where his relative’s young child was seated.
Morris walked up and down the aisles before picking up what the facts list as the ‘LOL Doll house’ valued at $450 and a ‘Classique Rose Tea Set’ valued at $50 and placed them in his trolley.
Morris continued to browse the store before leaving – making no attempt to pay for said items – and leaving the shopping complex in a Queensland-registered car.
The facts said police visited the Kidstuff location on June 16 and took a statement from the store manager, as well as receiving CCTV footage which showed Morris taking the items and getting into his car.
On March 10, police caught up with Morris and asked for information about the crime, where he told them “it was just me”, the facts said.
When asked, Morris said; “I stole the doll house, it was for my grandkids”.
His lawyer Mr Hanckel-Spice told the court his client had been overwhelmed and left the children’s shop without thinking however, Magistrate Ross Hudson told Morris his behaviour must not be repeated.
Mr Hanckel-Spice told the court the Queensland man had owned a blueberry farm but was forced to leave it during the Covid pandemic and move to Sydney. He was now residing at the Shangri-La Hotel in Cairns, the court heard.
When the small child began to scream and cry inside the Kidstuff store, Morris panicked and fled the store his lawyer told the court.
But Magistrate Hudson said this did not undo the crime committed, reminding Morris; “if you’re not going to pay for the item, you can’t take it”.
“If you don’t have the money to pay for it, don’t go into the store,” the magistrate told Morris.
Magistrate Hudson convicted Morris of stealing property and sentenced him to a conditional release order and ordered him to reimburse Kidstuff Eastgardens $500.