The bizarre reason why wedding thief stole $3700 from wishing well at Jack Rabbit Vineyard
A WEDDING-CRASHER thief has been jailed after stealing thousands of dollars from a newlywed’s wishing well earlier this year. But his explanation over why he committed the crime is downright bizarre.
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WEDDING-CRASHER thief Leigh Webber was jailed Wednesday after stealing $3700 gifted to newlyweds celebrating their nuptials at Bellarine’s Jack Rabbit Vineyard.
The uninvited guest became the focus of national media attention after police released images of him raiding the post box-style ‘wishing well’ from the wedding reception on March 3.
The Ocean Grove plumber was given a two-month jail term in Geelong Magistrates’ Court in July but was released moments later after lodging an appeal against the sentence.
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Webber, 42, showed up to Geelong County Court for the appeal on Wednesday but withdrew his application when judge Paul Grant indicated he was at “real risk of an increased penalty”.
He agreed with the judge’s assessment that he was “dealt with very generously by the magistrate”.
Webber said he wanted to make it clear he hadn’t “targeted” the Jack Rabbit wedding, instead claiming he and his wife had gone to one across the road at Terindah Estate, and he later returned in an effort to reclaim the gift they’d contributed.
“What I was getting back was my money that I’d put in,” he said.
“(But) I went to the wrong wedding … I wasn’t targeting these people.”
But Webber took much more than he’d gifted, the newlyweds and their guests estimating almost $4000 was taken, and the court heard the money was not returned.
Webber was identified to police after security footage from Jack Rabbit was used in a “large media campaign”.
The footage showed him enter the vineyard reception area, speak to staff and then go out to his car to collect bolt cutters. Shortly afterwards he returned and used the tool to cut the padlock protecting the wedding gifts.
“It’s a shocking thing to do to go into someone else’s wedding and use a device (to steal from them),” Mr Grant said.
With his appeal abandoned, Webber was taken into custody for a two month stretch behind bars. The sentence imposed on him by magistrate Ann McGarvie in July will also see him repay $3700 to the married couple.
He will also be made to pay a $900 fine and be released from custody onto a 12-month corrections order for separate offences, including petrol drive-off thefts on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Originally published as The bizarre reason why wedding thief stole $3700 from wishing well at Jack Rabbit Vineyard