Benjamin Patrick Keir pleads guilty at Gympie, Qld to burglary

A burglar who robbed a Brisbane luxury high rise unit of more than $100,000 of items during a crime spree across a large part of the state’s southeast was unravelled by his own thirst, a court has heard.

A burglar who robbed a Brisbane luxury high rise unit of more than $100,000 of items came unstuck by his own thirst, a court has heard.

A burglar who robbed a Brisbane luxury high rise unit of more than $100,000 of items was unravelled by his own thirst, a court has heard.

Benjamin Patrick Keir, 38, returned to face court over the theft in October 2024, only four months after being released on probation by Gympie Magistrate Court for a crime spree which stretched from Gympie to Brisbane and the South Burnett.

The spree was carried out from June 2021 to February 2023, with published court documents revealing the 38-year-old’s high-rise heist was carried out in the early months of that period.

Published court documents from Keir’s sentencing at the Brisbane District Court reveal on September 23, 2021, the 38-year-old and an unnamed co-offender returned to the building they had previously stayed at through AIRBNB.

The court heard the pair arrived on a motorcycle, and made their way to up to level 14 while still wearing their helmets.

A burglar who robbed a Brisbane luxury high rise unit of more than $100,000 of items came unstuck by his own thirst, a court has heard.

They then broke into the apartment, which was separated from a common area with a pool by a six-foot glass fence, and robbed the it of items including watches worth about $62,000, a Mac Air laptop, Chanel clothing, and a Hermes brand bag.

Judge Philip McCarthy said in his sentencing remarks a conservative evaluation of the stolen items placed their worth at more than $100,000.

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Benjamin Patrick Keir, 38, returned to face the courts over the theft in October 2024, only four months after being released on probation by Gympie Magistrate Court for a crime spree which stretched across the state’s southeast, including at Gympie, Brisbane, and the South Burnett.

When the couple returned home they found a Mount Franklin water bottle in their kitchen sink they had not left there.

It was this bottle Keir’s DNA was found on, the court heard.

Judge McCarthy said in his remarks Keir had intended to go to trial, but changed his mind when preliminary DNA on the water bottle came back.

When police attended Keir’s home in January 2023, they found his co-offender’s iPad with eBay messages detailing the sale of the Hermes bag, the Chanel items, and a diamond necklace also stolen in the heist.

Police investigations then found one of the $16,000 watches had been pawned in Noosa for $1000.

When Keir’s victims returned home, they found a Mount Franklin water bottle in their kitchen sink they had not left there. It was this bottle Keir’s DNA was found on, the court heard.

A second search of Keir’s home uncovered a suitcase stolen from the unit, specifically to help the pair carry their thieved items.

The court heard Keir, who was from the Sunshine Coast, had a good upbringing but suffered “significant” trauma in his mid-20s when his parents died only a short time apart from each other.

He then turned to drugs.

Judge McCarthy called Keir’s criminal history “unenviable”, noting he had been convicted dozens of times for charges of burglary, fraud, or receiving tainted property.

Keir had been on probation for nine months when he committed the heist, Judge McCarthy said.

He accepted Keir’s guilty plea to the burglary charge and sentenced him to five-and-a-half years’ jail, with immediate parole eligibility as he had served 646 days in pre-sentence custody.

Originally published as Benjamin Patrick Keir pleads guilty at Gympie, Qld to burglary