Man who rammed Louis Vuitton store to steal $46k of handbags caused $100,000 in damage
A man who ram raided a Louis Vuitton store in Queensland, making off with a staggering amount of designer bags, caused a huge damage bill.
A Queensland man caused more than $100,000 in damage when ram raiding a Louis Vuitton store with a stolen car and making off with $46,000 worth of handbags.
Robert Wayne Ninyette used a stolen car to ram through the front door of the Louis Vuitton store in Brisbane CBD in the early hours of February 13, just days after stealing cars and items from a grocery store with a co-accused.
In a cruel move, the owner of one of the stolen cars has been left nearly $35,000 out of pocket after the uninsured vehicle was found burned out near Browns Plains – ditched and set alight after being used in the ram raid.
Crown prosecutor Carla Ahern said the 30-year-old West Australia man showed no regard for other people’s property and would likely be unable to pay back any restitution to the car’s owner.
Ninyette, wearing a T-shirt and face mask, showed no emotion as he pleaded guilty to five charges at Brisbane District Court on Thursday.
Those charges included unlawful use of motor vehicles, enter premises and commit indictable offence by break and attempted fraud.
The court was told Ninyette and his co-accused stole two cars from addresses in Forest Lake between February 10 and 13 last year.
Ms Ahern said he forced entry into the local Foodworks store and stole items before fleeing.
In the early hours of February 13, one of the stolen cars was used to smash through the entrance of the Louis Vuitton store.
The pair made off with more than $46,000 in designer handbags which Ms Ahern says has never been recovered.
She said there was a level of pre-planning as one of them had covered their face to avoid identification.
“It was a targeted offence … it’s a high end store,” Ms Ahern said.
Ms Ahern said the total quantum of damage caused exceeded $180,000, including $104,000 of damage to the CBD store.
The stolen vehicle was later found burned out near Browns Plains.
Ninyette was charged with attempted fraud for trying to use another man’s driver’s licence.
His co-accused is still before the courts.
Ninyette’s Legal Aid barrister said he had been on remand at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre since February 17, which had been difficult to COVID-19.
The barrister told the court his partner and two young children lived in Western Australia, which compounded the difficulty with contacting them during prison lockdowns.
“There was very limited contact during this time,” his barrister said.
Ninyette also had trouble getting access to his medication for anxiety, depression and epilepsy while behind bars.
The court was told Ninyette came to Queensland after falling back into drug use and getting into an argument with his partner.
The defence barrister told the court Ninyette otherwise had a good work history as a labourer and machine operator.
Judge David Reid sentenced Ninyette to four-and-a-half years’ jail and set his parole eligibility date after serving 15 months.
More than 330 days spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time served.
Ninyette will be eligible for parole in May.