Airtasker house-sitter Andrew Dwyer pleads guilty to theft after looting Torquay home

They were paid to look after a Torquay house and the pets who lived there, instead they robbed the property of thousands in jewellery and electronics. They even stole the doorbell.

Andrew Dwyer appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to 19 charges stemming from a raft of crimes.

A Torquay couple who booked housesitters using a popular app were shocked to find their home had been looted, with an expensive engagement ring – and even their doorbell – among the missing items.

Andrew Dwyer appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday via videolink from Ravenhall prison, where he pleaded guilty to 19 charges, including theft, going equipped to steal and weapons charges.

The 38-year-old was jailed for a maximum of 14 months by Magistrate Ann McGarvie, with a non-parole period of seven months.

The court heard that on December 20 last year, a Torquay woman placed an ad on Airtasker requesting a housesitter to care for her pets while she and her partner went away.

Dwyer’s co-accused, Fiona Graham, responded and arranged for herself and Dwyer to house-sit for $300.

But when the homeowners arrived home 10 days later, they noticed many possessions were missing.

Dwyer and his co-accused had made off with more than $8600 worth of goods, largely jewellery and electronics, including a diamond engagement ring worth $3500, a ruby necklace, opal earrings, a printer, laptops, a GPS dog collar and their doorbell.

A $1200 camp fridge had also been taken.

On January 5, police searched Dwyer’s home in Larralea, 20km southwest of Lismore, where the printer and a MacBook were recovered.

It was later discovered some of the stolen items had been sold by Dwyer at Geelong Cash Converters on December 23.

Dwyer’s co-accused was sentenced to six months in jail for the thefts and other offending.

Dwyer also pleaded guilty to stealing petrol from a rural property near Cressy, after using an angle grinder to cut padlocks.

When police raided his home, they found the angle grinder inside his car, which had false plates, along with black gloves and a “break-in kit”.

A shotgun cartridge was found on a bedside table, and in the rear of the garage a “slam gun” was found, capable of firing shotgun shells.

Dwyer’s lawyer, barrister Gorjan Nikolovski, told the court his client had cognitive impairments and mental health issues, which meant imprisonment carried an increased burden.

Mr Nikolovski said Dwyer’s crimes were driven by drug use, which affected his “emotional regulation and ability to rationally think”.

He said Dwyer had signed up for anger-management and drug-abuse courses in custody.

Mr Nikolovski said he was seeking a sentence that was “minimal, not crushing”.

Dwyer has a 28-page criminal history and the court heard he had “breached every corrections order since 2012”.

Ms McGarvie said she didn’t know whether Dwyer could get his life on track at his age, and said parole might be the best way to help him stay on the straight and narrow.

“If you are going to change … now is the time you have to do the work,” Ms McGarvie said.

“But it’s ultimately up to you … hopefully you can perhaps comply with (parole) and get back to living a normal life, one that doesn’t involve drugs, dishonesty and breaching orders.”

Dwyer had already spent 42 days in jail.

Originally published as Airtasker house-sitter Andrew Dwyer pleads guilty to theft after looting Torquay home