Maranoa offenders named and shamed for wild theft or fraud crimes
From a Facebook fraudster caught ripping off a victim to a woman forging a fake receipt to fool investigators she owned a horse, here’s some of the most bizarre thefts or fraud cases brought before Roma court in the past 12 months.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A scammer trying to sell a PlayStation he didn’t have via Facebook and a woman who forged a fake receipt to fool police after she was found with her employer’s horse are just two of the offenders who were sentenced for theft or fraud in court this past year.
See the full list of bizarre and wild crimes below.
Conviction recorded
Thief caught breaking in house said he was feeding pet bird
A Roma man who snuck through a window into a woman’s home to steal board games and PlayStation games told a court he was just feeding her pet bird.
Dominique John Ellis pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to one count of stealing.
Police prosecutor Mathew Donnelly said on February 26 at 5.30pm Ellis was seen sneaking through a window into a Roma woman’s home.
The two witnesses, who were park managers at the Big Rig Caravan Park, were patrolling the site on their golf cart when they noticed a flyscreen on the ground in front of one of the cabins.
“One of the witnesses picked up the flyscreen from the ground and fixed it back onto the window,” Mr Donnelly said.
“They had returned to the cabin two minutes later to make sure the flyscreen was still secured, they both saw the defendant on the outside of the cabin front window, and the co-defendant holding the flyscreen in his hands assisting the defendant to exit.
“The co-defendant then placed the front fly screen back on. Witnesses then saw the defendant and co-defendant giving each other what they thought to be DVDs. Then they went back to their cabins.
Upon inspection the 25-year-old victim noticed four PlayStation games and four board games were missing from her room.
The following day on February 27 police attended the Big Rig Caravan Park to speak with Ellis.
He told police he entered the dwelling to feed the bird for his friend who used to live there.
Given the defendant’s extensive 28 entry criminal history, he was sentenced to six months imprisonment wholly suspended for 18 months.
A conviction was recorded.
Supermarket sushi thief claims she doesn’t even like it
A repeat offender with a ‘shocking record’ told the court she doesn’t remember stealing sushi and makeup from a Toowoomba Woolworths, claiming she didn’t even like the cuisine she stole.
Naomi Leigh Welk pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to one count of stealing.
Police prosecutor Mathew Donnelly said on February 19 Welk was spotted pocketing makeup items and sushi from the Drayton Woolworths in Toowoomba.
An observant staff member followed Welk outside the store and took photographs of her as she made her getaway.
It wasn’t long when the law caught up with the defendant when Roma Police located her and took her into questioning.
Welk told police she couldn’t remember her whereabouts on the day of the offending, however when police showed her CCTV footage of her theft she admitted it was her in the footage.
“She said she couldn’t remember what occurred as she was unmedicated at the time and stated when she is unmedicated she cannot remember what goes on,” Mr Donnelly said.
Defence lawyer Leslee Reed said her client was on a disability pension and when she was unmedicated “she simply can’t remember what happens”.
“She was also drinking alcohol,” Ms Reed said.
“She can’t understand why she took the sushi, she doesn’t even like it or eat it.”
Acting magistrate Michael Bice handed Welk a 50 hour community service order, to be completed within 12 months, with a conviction recorded.
Man wanted for theft caught after asking police for belongings back
A Roma man wanted for theft was brought undone after he rang police asking to have belongings he dropped during his escape returned to him.
John Paul Sullivan pleaded guilty in Chinchilla Magistrates Court to theft with police prosecutor Chris Hutchins telling the court that on February 1 about 7.25pm, Sullivan stole a bottle of Bundaberg rum from the Queensland Hotel in Miles.
Shortly after police attended the premises and were provided a photo of the man who was described as wearing black Adidas shoes and was last spotted at a nearby bus stop.
When police arrived and parked at the bus stop, Sullivan was observed by police running away from them towards the creek and into the bush.
During his getaway, the defendant dropped the bottle of rum, his mobile phone, a red charging cable and a pair of dark shorts.
Later, Sullivan rang Miles police asking for his belongings back.
He told police over the phone he paid for the rum because he didn’t want to go to jail and advised them he was in Roma and was happy to attend the Roma Police Station to be dealt with.
The court was told Sullivan was then taken into custody by police for breaching his parole after he failed to report to police.
“It almost reads as if they didn’t have enough to ID him and he, I won’t say stupidly enough, but he rang police and perhaps in a roundabout way was trying to hand himself in,” Mr Hutchins said.
“It’s a dumb decision to make, I’m sorry,” Sullivan said via videolink.
“I wasn’t really caring about it, my brother passed away and I wanted to get drunk. I know it’s not an excuse but I wanted to drink.”
Magistrate Kyna Morice said it was an “incredibly poor decision to make in light of being on parole”.
The magistrate acknowledged Sullivan has been serving time in custody and is facing other charges so she convicted and not further punished him. A conviction was recorded.
Woman blames large dogs in yard for not returning stolen items
A Roma woman fronted court for stealing an elderly family friend’s mobile phone, Westpac bank card and driver’s licence the day before she was due to help the victim make a Centrelink application.
Nicole Ellen Millard, 39, pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to one count of theft.
Despite pleading guilty, the court was told Millard borrowed the 64-year-old victim’s phone to make a call and intended to return it the next day.
“She had intended to return the phone, but by the time she finished the call it was 1 o’clock in the morning and there were some large dogs in the yard,” Millard’s lawyer said.
“My client was not aware that the drivers licence and cards were in the phone case as well.”
Magistrate Shane Elliott said it was concerning this was the second time this year the defendant had come before the courts for dishonesty offences.
“She’s taken advantage of someone she knows,” Mr Elliott said.
“I’m not saying it’s great conduct, but she returned it the next day.”
The magistrate handed Millard a $500 fine and a conviction was recorded.
No conviction recorded
Roma fraudster faces court for selling PlayStation he didn’t have
An online scammer has fronted court after police caught him ripping off a Facebook user on the site’s marketplace by selling a PlayStation console he didn’t have.
Online scammer Michael Irwin James Davies pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to a string of charges including fraud and breaking bail for another offence.
The police prosecutor said the 51-year-old victim saw the PlayStation 4 advertised for $400 on Facebook and contacted Davies to buy it.
Davies instructed the victim to send money into a Westpac bank account under the defendant’s name.
Davies assured the victim that the PlayStation 4 had been posted to his address; however, the console never arrived.
Defence lawyer Laurie Parker said his client had no explanation for why he committed the offence, but said Davies suffers from mental health issues including PTSD.
Davies was fined $700 for all offences and ordered to pay the victim $400 in restitution.
No conviction was recorded.
Woman forges fake receipt after found with her employer’s horse
A 43-year-old woman who handed police a forged document to convince investigators she was the owner of her employer’s horse fronted court for trying to deceive police.
Michelle Joy Thompson pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to one charge of fraud.
The court was told Thompson lived at the complainant’s property in Tingun where she trained and cared for the horse in question.
According to police, Thompson provided officers with a handwritten receipt she claimed proved she had purchased the horse.
Police seized the document and sent it away for a forensic handwriting analysis to be performed.
Experts used samples of both the complainant’s and Thompson’s writing to determine who had filled out the document.
Findings from the analysis revealed the receipt was written by someone else other than the complainant and most likely by Thompson.
Magistrate Shane Elliott said if Thompson hadn’t forged the receipt then this matter would be in the civil court and he would’ve been able to determine who should own the horse.
“The criminality is the cover up afterwards, not the actual disagreement,” the magistrate said.
“You turned it into a criminal matter.”
Thompson was fined $500, and Mr Elliott ordered the horse be returned to the complainant.
No conviction was recorded.
More Coverage
Originally published as Maranoa offenders named and shamed for wild theft or fraud crimes
Everybody appearing at Roma Magistrates Court, Friday, October 25
Here is a list of matters listed at Roma Magistrates Court on Friday.
Everybody appearing at Roma Magistrates Court, Tuesday, October 22
Here is a list of matters listed at Roma Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Rocky woman instantly loses licence after clocked at eye-watering speed
A woman who was busted travelling at break neck speeds on a rural highway has been dealt an enormous fine and instant licence suspension.
Woman hospitalised after violent dispute in state’s southwest
A violent dispute in the southwest region on Friday evening saw a woman taken to hospital with a head injury. Here’s what we know.
Family feud comes to a head in Roma street fights
An organised fight to settle a years-old vendetta resulted in a 31-year-old man spending almost three months behind bars. DETAILS.
Your ultimate guide to every gun club in Queensland
A new public shooting gallery catering to unlicensed shooters as young as 11 has opened as firearm sports experience a surge in popularity. See our exclusive list of all gun clubs in Queensland.