Young mum Ebony Marika Thomas uses ladder, knife, to steal woman’s wardrobe and Mercedes
A court has heard how a young mum used a ladder to break into a South Townsville home, bagged up a wardrobe’s worth of clothes, then pulled a knife when caught in the act.
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A court has heard how a South Townsville home invasion victim “cannot bring herself to come home” after experiencing two violent burglaries in just three months, and has now left Townsville for good.
Those details were read out on Wednesday, November 6, during the sentencing of Ebony Marika Thomas who’d pleaded guilty to breaking and entering the woman’s home on October 19, 2023.
The mum-of-two also pleaded guilty to armed robbery and ‘unlawful use of a motor vehicle with actual violence while armed’.
The Townsville District Court heard that the 23-year-old Thomas and a co-offender broke into the victim’s home using a ladder, entering through a side-window.
Crown prosecutor Patrick Newman said the victim was not home at the time, but she arrived about an hour later, around 8am.
“When she went inside she heard a noise upstairs, and she went to investigate. She was confronted by the defendant (Thomas) in her guest room,” Mr Newman said.
Thomas was armed with a knife and a hammer and threatened to stab the victim if she didn’t hand over her car keys.
Mr Newman said Thomas had three bags with her filled with the victim’s clothes and valuables.
“The bags appeared to contain the majority of her wardrobe, the defendant (Thomas) also stole keys, other bags, electronics and other appliances,” Mr Newman said.
“She then went outside, got into the complaint’s car and took off.”
The court heard the reason why the victim was not home for the 7am burglary, was because she’d experienced a home invasion two months prior and was too scared to sleep in her home at night, instead staying with family and returning in the mornings.
The Mercedes car was found the next day, along with a small portion of the stolen goods.
Defence barrister Michael Hibble said Thomas and her co-offender were “off their chops on drugs” at the time.
“They were busy collecting everything they could find,” Mr Hibble said.
“The co-offender heard the person come home, they fled, and she (Thomas) got stuck inside trying to hide. She panicked.”
The court heard Thomas was out on parole, but it had been revoked days before the robbery and she was “unlawfully at large” at the time.
Police eventually found and arrested her on October 27 in Hermit Park, eight days after the robbery.
She was denied bail and has spent the last 376 days serving her outstanding parole and being detained in pre-sentenced custody.
Judge David Kent sentenced Thomas to three and a half years imprisonment, and set a parole date of December 23, 2024.
Thomas plans to check herself in rehab upon release, the court heard.
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Originally published as Young mum Ebony Marika Thomas uses ladder, knife, to steal woman’s wardrobe and Mercedes
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