Aspendale thief with 74-page rap sheet told by magi to ‘get a job’

A thief with a mammoth rap sheet says he steals to buy ciggies and drugs as he isn’t given enough state trustees money to live on.

A thief broke into cars to steal to buy ciggies, booze and drugs because he said state trustees don’t give him enough money.

A prolific thief with a 74-page rap sheet who steals to buy ciggies and drugs because he says a state trustees weekly $100 allowance isn’t enough to live on has been told to “get a job”.

Kieran Walker, 28, pleaded guilty to 40 theft, deception-related and chief health officer breach charges at the online Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

The court heard Walker had been in and out of prison for near continuous theft-related offending dating back a decade.

Walker had only just been released from custody in July last year when he went on another break-in binge.

The court heard he would prowl southeast streets in the early hours looking to steal items from cars.

Over several nights in August he tried to break into vehicles in driveways in Aspendale and Chelsea, and knocked off a pair of gloves from a motorbike.

In September and October he targeted Chelsea Heights cars, using nicked bank cards to pay for cigarettes, bourbon and cans of coke, as well as fund taxi rides.

The next month Walker focused on cars in Mordialloc, where the pilferer broke into cars and stole wallets, purses, bags and a pair of safety glasses.

He then used stolen cards to buy cans of coke from a vending machine, groceries from a supermarket and smokes from a 7-Eleven.

Each time he was breaching COVID-19 restrictions by being out past curfew for no good reason.

When police later visited the Aspendale motel room he lived in they found the same clothing he had been seen wearing on CCTV in many of the thefts.

Walker openly admitted his crimes, saying he stole to support himself as he believed the $100 a week he got “from the trustees isn’t enough to live on”.

He said he needed money to buy provisions and also to feed his “daily cannabis habit”.

His defence lawyer said Walker was honest with police and, in his own mind, had a good reason to steal.

He said Walker had longstanding drug problems, a low IQ and mental health issues.

Magistrate Fiona Stewart said she hadn’t seen Walker’s level of offending, or someone with a 74-page criminal history, for some time.

“You say you haven’t got enough money – that’s because you spend it on drugs,” Ms Stewart said.

“Have you ever thought of getting a job?”

Walker responded he was trying to get work and had a mate who could “help him out”.

He said when he was released in July he “mucked up” by getting back onto drugs.

Walker’s case was adjourned and he will be sentenced on January 28.