Boozed burglar confesses bid to break in to Sorrento police station
A DELUSIONAL drug and alcohol-addled burglar who tried to break into a police station during a crime bender has escaped jail.
South East
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A DELUSIONAL drug and alcohol-addled burglar who tried to break into a police station during a crime bender has escaped jail.
The Safety Beach man, 20, broke into a Sorrento cafe and parked cars before his amateurish attempts to gain access to the Sorrento police station and a nearby hotel failed.
But he was not without a conscience, dobbing himself in to police the next morning.
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Billy John Tovey pleaded guilty to burglary and theft offences at Dromana Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
The court heard he broke into Rusty’s Cafe Bar and Grill in Sorrento in the early hours of May 21 this year, stealing a cash register, a tip jar and a bottle of Jim Beam.
His next burglary bid was to try and jemmy open the cop shop doors.
That was unsuccessful, so he went over to the Sorrento Hotel, again failing to get anywhere, and instead stole keys, CDs and phone chargers from cars parked outside.
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He was so out of it on booze and Xanax that when he woke up he didn’t know why he had stolen he items in his backpack.
He then went to Mornington police station and handed himself in.
The month before, on April 23, he had been involved in a burglary at a Flinders house where an elderly couple were inside and a television and iPhones were taken.
That crime was easily solved when one of the victims used their ‘find my phone’ app to alert police to the burglars’ Dromana address.
His defence lawyer said Tovey had got in with the wrong crowd and had problems when he had been drinking heavily and taking drugs.
He said he was now clean, and the fact he had self-confessed was a sign of his true remorse.
Magistrate Ross Betts said he would normally jail someone for these serous crimes, but noted Tovey had an excellent chance of rehabilitation and was tackling his drink and drug demons.
“You volunteered your involvement to police,” Mr Betts said.
Tovey was convicted and placed on an 18-month community corrections order, must do 150 hours of unpaid work and undergo drug and alcohol counselling.
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