Thomas Keech pleads guilty to thefts, obtaining property by deception

A serial car thief with a penchant for using stolen cards has told a court he now recognises the negative impact of his crimes and how he was using drugs as a “Band-Aid” for his own problems.

Thomas Keech. Picture: Facebook

A thief responsible for multiple car thefts across Geelong has apologised for his actions in a letter to the court.

Thomas Keech, 23, pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday to a litany of charges including obtaining property by deception, theft, theft of a motor vehicle, unlicensed driving, using counterfeit money, receiving and handling stolen goods and possessing weapons, cartridge ammunition and drugs.

Keech’s offending occurred between May to October last year, spanning Geelong from Corio to Newcomb.

Many of Keech’s crimes involved thefts of and from cars and using stolen bank cards, including spending more than $1000 on one victim’s card in October.

Keech, originally from Lara, attempted to use a counterfeit $100 note at a McDonalds store in Geelong in May.

On July 24, a Mazda stolen from an address in Newtown was found dumped in waters off a coastal reserve in Corio.

When Keech was arrested, he had the keys to the Mazda, identity and bank cards, religious bangles – all stolen – and ammo, cannabis, ice and “wet clothes”.

Keech told police he was couch surfing and found “a lot of things by the side of the road”.

The same month, he was arrested after witnesses saw him trying to remove the registration plates of a recently stolen Toyota RAV4.

In September, he stole a Ford Territory from an address in Newcomb, using bank cards found inside before dumping the car after an associate couldn’t tow it.

Keech was arrested multiple times, including being found hiding in a laundry on one occasion and a ceiling cavity on another.

Following the summaries of his offending being heard, Keech read aloud a letter he’d written, in which he apologised for his actions.

He said he had started to understand the negative impact of his crimes and felt “guilt, shame and remorse”.

The court heard he felt alone and isolated due to his drug addiction, in part because his family were “good people” who raised him better.

“They (parents) raised me to kind, considerate polite and caring,” he said, admitting he felt he had been given up on, but he now saw his father, who was in court, was “very supportive”.

Instead, it was he who had given up on himself.

“I just wasn’t ready to man up and deal with my problems … I used drugs as a bandaid,” he said, adding he knew he was “capable of recovery”.

Keech said he had abstained from drugs during the 147-days he’d spent in custody, and would participate in Narcotics Anonymous “as long as it takes”.

Keech’s lawyer, Richard Jakobson, told the court his client often said he wanted to change, but noted he hadn’t had the opportunity for a community corrections order (CCO) since 2022.

He acknowledged Keech had an “extensive” criminal history for someone his age, and said: “it’s really going to be a test of what happens post-release”.

The prosecution agreed a combined sentence including a CCO was within range.

The matter was adjourned to March 25.

Originally published as Thomas Keech pleads guilty to thefts, obtaining property by deception