Bowls Club handbag snatcher sentenced to four years in jail

Court heard a meth-induced bender was to blame for a young man’s reckless, “stupid” behaviour.

BATTLE SCARRED: A Kingaroy woman has been left physically and psychologically scarred after a 20-year-old man stole her handbag while on a drug-induced crime rampage.

A WOMAN has been left too afraid to attend social gatherings after her handbag was stolen by a young criminal on a drug-fuelled crime spree.

The Kingaroy District Court this week heard how a young man’s actions have left a 53-year-old woman battered and bruised after he robbed her outside the Kingaroy Bowls Club last September before proceeding to use her debit card to purchase fuel, soft drinks and cigarettes.

Isaiah Ted Joseph Colonel faced District Court on a string of more than 30 offences, including five counts of entering dwellings and committing indictable offences, four ­charges of stealing as well as robbery and fraud.

The court heard Colonel and a group of associates went on an drug-induced crime spree last year from September 13–29, inflicting damages and danger across seven dwellings within the South Burnett and beyond.

It is believed Colonel was under the influence of ­methamphetamine when he committed a number of the 35 offences.

On September 14, 2019 the young Cherbourg man robbed the female victim at the entrance of Kingaroy Bowls Club, taking her handbag containing her mobile phone, keys and wallet, which had some cash and multiple bank cards inside it.

The court heard the young man proceeded to use one of the victim’s bank cards to purchase petrol, soft drink and cigarettes at a Kingaroy service station, hence the count of fraud.

Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said the female victim was left physically and psychologically scarred by Colonel’s actions.

“She fell as a result of the altercation and sustained some nasty bruising and a bump on her head,” he said.

“The victim also reported having trouble with her eyesight since the incident and now attends regular psychologist appointments and has changed her behaviours in public.

“She no longer parks in the undercover parking at the local shopping centre and does not attend bingo at the bowls club any more, which was her one social outing for the week.

“She said ‘I just can’t go back there’ and views people differently, finding group environments to be too intimidating and has since installed multiple locks and chains on all the doors of her home.”

20-year-old Colonel was also charged with entering a dwelling, where he was confronted by children who assisted authorities with identifying him.

Police attempted to locate and apprehend Colonel on multiple occasions and at one stage of his crime spree enacted a car pursuit between Kingaroy and Nanango but ultimately had to call it off due to his reckless driving endangering other motorists.

He pleaded guilty to all 35 charges and appeared in the docks looking unperturbed.

Colonel was supported in court by his mother and two sisters, who attended the hearing on Wednesday, February 19.

Mr Stark told the court despite Colonel’s young age, he had a lengthy criminal history and traffic record despite never having held a driver’s licence.

“In terms of his criminal history, it essentially speaks for itself with six pages,” Mr Stark said.

“His history details a number of previous dishonesty and property offences as well as stealing and multiple cases of unlawful use of a motor ­vehicle.”

Mr Stark told the court Colonel began sniffing petrol between the ages of eight and nine and had since progressed to consuming illicit drugs such as marijuana and methamphetamine.

Defence barrister Catherine Cuthbert told the court her client regretted his actions but could not identify a reason or excuse for his behaviour.

He told her: “It was just stupid, it was just stupid.”

Judge Gary Long S.C. and Mr Stark agreed while Colonel’s punishment must reflect the severity of the ­offences, his sentences should not be too “crushing” as this could hinder ­Colonel’s chances of positively re-entering society.

“Your youth contains the hope and prospect of rehabilitation,” Mr Stark said.

Judge Long sentenced ­Colonel to a number of lengthy prison sentences for the majority of his offences and ordered he serve all of his sentences concurrently.

The young man is now facing a four-year imprisonment, which will begin at the end of his current imprisonment sentence, of which he still has eight months to serve.

Colonel was disqualified from holding a driver’s licence for two years from the court hearing and his new parole date was set to February 2, 2021.

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