‘You will definitely be in prison’: magistrate warns repeat offender

A Gladstone man who overdosed before being taken into custody said this time behind bars would be his last, after drug charges and a Gladstone Golf Club break-in in April 2023.

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A Gladstone man in court for property and drug offences has been unable to convince a magistrate a near fatal overdose and a history behind bars is enough to change him for the better.

Damon Matthew James Tait, 42, pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court on August 16 to two charges of enter premises and commit an indictable offence by break, one charge for the possession of dangerous drugs, and one charge for failing to appear in accordance with undertaking.

On April 28 of this year, Mr Tait was charged with breaking into Bunzl and Gladstone Golf Club.

Acting Magistrate Athol Kennedy changed Mr Tait’s sentence date until Monday, saying he would be in prison for “some time”, given his criminal history and the seriousness of the offences.

“You keeping doing the (same), and say that you’re going to change but you don’t … how many times have you been before the Magistrates Court and said the same thing?” Mr Kennedy said.

After serving several sentences for other offences, Mr Tait said he was determined to get his life on track following a near fatal overdose earlier this year.

“I’m 42 now, and it’s taken this long for something to scare me like this,” he said.

Mr Tait said that he had made the same promises before.

“I’ve tried defending myself and have said similar things before, but this time I know it’s for real,” he said.

Originally published as ‘You will definitely be in prison’: magistrate warns repeat offender