Kevin John Tranberg pleads guilty to 48 fraud, drug, stealing, weapons charges

A Moranbah miner linked a bevy of criminal charges to his divorce with a magistrate reprimanding him that he wasn’t “the first guy whose wife left him,” a court heard.

A Moranbah miner linked a bevy of criminal charges to his divorce with a magistrate reprimanding him that he wasn’t “the first guy whose wife left him, they don’t all go around stealing and doing drugs”, a court heard.

A Queensland court heard a young father fell into drug use and criminal offending after his divorce with the mother of their child, but the magistrate hearing the case was not so forgiving.

Kevin John Tranberg faced Mackay Magistrates court with 48 charges, ranging from fraud to stealing to drug use, which his lawyer said followed the breakdown of his relationship.

Yet Magistrate Damien Dwyer was quick to point out to the 34-year-old that he was hardly “the first guy whose wife left him, they don’t all go around stealing and doing drugs”.

Kevin John Tranberg has pleaded guilty to more than 40 charges in a crime spree following his divorce. Photo: Contributed

ATSILS solicitor Daniel Lane said Tranberg wanted to address his drug problem to be a better father to his six-year-old daughter, and had previously attended a Gold Coast based residential rehab.

Yet Mr Dwyer posited alcohol too appeared an issue, noting Tranberg’s theft of a $100 bottle of vodka from Dan Murphys Mackay, and was concerned Tranberg had already been sentenced for other offences.

“What do you say about this, Mr Lane, bearing in mind what happened on August 4, 2023 (where he’s sentenced) and today you bring me another 24 charges allegedly committed prior to that date?” Mr Dwyer asked.

“They should have been dealt with then ... I can only assume that the police service weren’t aware of it.”

“Your Honour could infer that,” Mr Lane replied.

Mr Lane requested immediate parole with 15 months imprisonment suspended, noting Tranberg had made “modest” rehabilitation attempts and had a good work history in the mines near Moranbah.

The court heard he had zero criminal history until the age of 31 when his relationship broke down amid a growing drug problem.

Tranberg’s charges included fraud, stealing, possessing methamphetamine, enter premises and commit indictable offence, possessing a knife in public, failure to appear, driving unlicensed, fare evasion, possessing suspected stolen property, and receiving tainted property.

Kevin John Tranberg has pleaded guilty to more than 40 charges in a crime spree following his divorce. Photo: Contributed

Police prosecutor Matt Saunders said the knife and handguns found in his backpack were the most serious matters, leading to his detainment that “escalated to a serious situation” as he resisted being put in the “paddy wagon” and separated from the backpack.

“It seems to me that a man who’s 31 years of age and goes off the rails because of a marriage break-up has great prospects of rehabilitation if he gets the right treatment,” Mr Dwyer said.

“(He’s) pinching chocolates and cokes and lollies (but it) seems it’s getting worse.”

However Mr Dwyer ordered probation and parole to prepare a written report on Tranberg’s previous performance with rehabilitation on community-based orders before he completed the sentence.

Tranberg had his matters adjourned to Wednesday, September 11 to complete his part-heard sentence and was remanded in custody.

Originally published as Kevin John Tranberg pleads guilty to 48 fraud, drug, stealing, weapons charges