Shane Vincent Sawyer in court for breaking into Urangan Bowls Club

A cunning employee with a $500 a day drug habit robbed his employer of thousands of dollars twice in one month - but he failed to remember one important thing.

Carlie Walker

2 min read

May 9, 2024 - 4:00AM

Shane Vincent Sawyer, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of breaking and entering and one count of entering a premises and committing an indictable offence when he faced Hervey Bay District Court on Wednesday.

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A bowls club employee who broke into the club safe after 10 days on the job and later pretended to be the victim of an armed robbery will spend the next few months in prison.

The court heard Sawyer had been an employee at the Urangan Bowls Club when the offending happened.

On July 18, 2023, about 11.20pm, Sawyer went to the club and, while inside, forced open the storage door where the safe key was kept, leaving blood on the handle of the door.

He then stole $2000 from inside the safe along with an unknown amount of cash from the till and cash tin, which police and security later found near the carpark entrance and in the garden bed.

A little more than a month later, on August 28, 2023, Sawyer was involved in another break-in, the court heard.

About 10pm, police were called to the club in relation to a reported break-in.

Sawyer was just finishing his shift and later provided a false witness statement to police claiming to have been the victim of an armed robbery by unknown intruders.

Investigations revealed that what had actually occurred was that Sawyer had ushered two masked co-offenders through an open door after the last patron left and pointed them towards the safe.

He opened the safe and gave them the money inside, which on that occasion amounted to more than $6700.

The court heard there was a degree of premeditation involved in the crime, as messages on Sawyer’s phone showed he had been discussing taking money from the bowls club with another person.

The Urangan Bowls Club.

Sawyer was arrested in relation to both offences on December 13, 2023, and had been in custody since that time, the court was told.

The court heard Sawyer had been involved with a “heavy drug culture” on the Gold Coast at the time of the offending.

But he had reconnected with his partner, who was supporting him in court and supporting him in his rehabilitation.

When the break-ins occurred, some associates had travelled to Hervey Bay and he had relapsed and had been using in excess of $500 a day worth of substances which was “a significant habit to fund”.

Sawyer had written a letter of apology to his former employer and had reflected on his conduct, the court heard.

During his time in custody he had been working in the kitchen.

Upon his release Sawyer intended to find work in the construction industry doing labouring, the court heard.

Judge Michael Burnett said Sawyer had been an employee of the bowls club for about 10 days before the first offence, and committed the second offence about a month later.

Judge Burnett said Sawyer claimed to have been robbed at knifepoint while closing the pub by unknown intruders.

“CCTV revealed an entirely different picture,” he said.

That had shown Sawyer’s involvement in the offending, including the moment he opened the safe for them.

The body of offending demonstrated some premeditation and sophistication, Judge Burnett said.

Sawyer was given a head sentence of two years in prison with a parole release date on September 29, 2024, with the time he had spent in presentence custody declared as time served.

A suspended sentence previously imposed on Sawyer was also activated, to be served concurrently.

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