Darren Keays charged with tool theft from Ringwood construction site
A man receiving the Federal Government’s JobKeeper payment has fronted court charged with theft after he was allegedly found prowling a Ringwood construction site.
Outer East
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A man collecting the Federal Government’s $1500 JobKeeper payments has fronted a court to ask for bail after he was charged with theft from a Ringwood construction site.
Darren Keays, of Traralgon, was bailed at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on May 7 after being charged with stealing tools from a Maroondah Highway construction site on Monday, May 4.
Mr Keays told police he was “stressed” and had decided to go for a walk when they allegedly found him trespassing at the building site shortly after midnight.
He told the arresting officers he had been working in logistics until he lost his job as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and was receiving $1500 fortnightly payments under the Federal Government’s financial relief package.
Mr Keays also told police the tools were his and he’d owned some of them for a “long time”, according to the court documents, but he couldn’t say when or where he’d bought them from.
A small bag of ice was also allegedly found in his car parked nearby, according to the court documents.
And police alleged Mr Keays was on bail at the time of Monday’s incident for similar charges including burglary, handling stolen goods and drug possession.
“The accused has 23 prior charges of commit an indictable offence while on bail,’’ the court documents noted.
“Police believe that if he were given bail he would commit further offences.”
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Magistrate Jan Maclean bailed Mr Keays and told him he’d “had a close call” in his most recent brush with the law, but she told him she was prepared to give him a chance to engage with drug support programs while on bail.
“You’ve had a close call and you’ve had a few days in custody, and I’ve certainly taken that into account,” Ms Maclean said.
“I need to tell you Mr Keays, any further offending by you and the prospect of you getting bail again are very, very thin.”