Michael Craig Rogers jailed in Mackay court for cutting ankle bracelet, meth

A mysterious alarm could be heard in a regional botanic gardens but it was not from a bird or other type of wildlife. It was a lost ankle bracelet calling for the authorities to find it.

Michael Craig Rogers faced Mackay Magistrates Court after cutting off his ankle bracelet. Picture: Facebook

A mysterious alarm could be heard in the Mackay Botanic Gardens but it was not from a bird or other type of wildlife.

It was a lost ankle bracelet calling for the authorities to find it.

Its wearer Michael Craig Rogers had cut it off hours earlier to escape detection knowing that seeing his girlfriend was about to land him in trouble with police.

Mackay Magistrates Court heard his father was also fed up of the 2am phone calls from monitoring firm Ventia asking Rogers to step outside the Andergrove home so it could monitor his whereabouts.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Linden Pollard said Rogers agreed to wearing the bracelet to get bail from the Mackay watch house on October 19, following his arrest for breaching a domestic violence order which banned him from seeing his girlfriend without written consent.

Sergeant Pollard said police received an alert about 9am on November 21 “which indicated that the wires in the monitor had been cut”.

He said officers then tried phoning Rogers but calls went to voicemail, and the 46-year-old’s dad told police he had not seen him “for several days”.

Michael Craig Rogers faced Mackay Magistrates Court after cutting off his ankle bracelet. Picture: Facebook

Rogers said cutting the tracker was “stupid” as he pleaded with Magistrate Damian Dwyer to give him another chance as he struggled in a 7x3m jail cell.

But Mr Dwyer said he kept “punching the community in the nose” and any return was at his “own invitation” with Rogers failing to surrender to police.

Time’s up as Rogers found hiding in a cupboard

Officers from the Tactical Crime Squad found him inside a cupboard at the rear of his girlfriend’s backyard on November 11.

Sergeant Pollard said they took Rogers to the watch house where he “behav(ed) erratically ... under the influence of drugs”.

The court heard the same squad four months earlier spotted Rogers try to avoid detection while driving along Evan St.

Upon being pulled over, police caught Rogers’ girlfriend, who was in the passenger’s seat, stashing her boyfriend’s clip seal bag containing 0.86g of methamphetamines “down her underwear”.

Michael Craig Rogers faced Mackay Magistrates Court after cutting off his ankle bracelet. Picture: Facebook

Rogers - who pleaded guilty to possession of dangerous drugs, two breach of bail conditions, breach of bail condition (domestic violence offence), contravention of domestic violence order (aggravated), and wilful damage - said life had dealt him a “downfall” in the past few months and he often found himself homeless when his girlfriend or parents kicked him out.

‘I keep being the black sheep’

“Mum and Dad, they’re disappointed in me,” he said to Mr Dwyer.

“They’re straight 180s, I keep being the black sheep.”

Mr Dwyer said Rogers should self-reflect to find the common denominator, with his almost “career criminal” level of drug offending spanning two decades.

The court further heard Roger had breached all four suspended sentences afforded to him.

Mr Dwyer, who twice threatened to kick Rogers’ girlfriend out of court as the pair communicating with each other and disrupting the proceedings, ordered Rogers serve one month of his current suspended sentence on top of three months jail for his latest offences.

Rogers was released immediately on parole, having served 102 days of presentence custody.

Convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Michael Craig Rogers jailed in Mackay court for cutting ankle bracelet, meth