Kieron Lee Cobbo, mother of 14, slapped with prison sentence following string of break-ins, ‘sneak thievery’

Telling police she had stopped by a local business to apologise, a South Burnett mother instead attempted to open their till before taking off with the swear jar.

A mother of 14 struck multiple small businesses across Kingaroy with a bizarre crime spree that involved stealing a swear jar from a motel.

Cobbo, 42, appeared in Kingaroy Magistrates Court via video link where she pleaded guilty to entering a dwelling with intent, entering premises and committing an indictable offence, breaching bail, entering premises with intent, and stealing.

At 7.20am on April 17, Cobbo entered Baker’s Haven through a rear door, went into the staffroom and took a black backpack containing various items, police prosecutor Sergeant Pepe Gangemi said.

Cobbo abandoned the backpack by a bin outside and the victim later found it using the find my phone app.

The next day, in breach of her bail condition, she visited the Oasis Motel to “apologise” for past events.

At 3.30pm she entered the premises through the rear kitchen, reaching through a hole in the back screen door to unlock the latch.

Sgt Gangemi said Cobbo opened a cardboard box filled with alcohol and attempted to open the till, before she left the premises with a swear jar filled with an unknown amount of cash.

At 4pm that day, Cobbo jumped the back fence of a Kingaroy home, however was scared away by the victim. She was located and arrested by police a short while later.

Cobbo was represented by Mark Werner.

Mr Werner said his client had recently experienced life changing events, including the end of a 27-year relationship, and suffers from mental health issues and substance abuse, specifically alcohol and methamphetamine.

“It is acknowledged that she was intoxicated at the time of the commission of these offences, but it is the circumstance that her underlying schizophrenia was also aggravated by intoxication,” he said.

Mr Werner said the offending was opportunistic and irrational in nature, since “quite unusually” nothing was actually taken.

“To encapsulate the offending, is really sneak thievery. It's finding open doors, walking in, seeing what was immediately obvious and taking it,” he said.

“The backpack was taken out the back door and dropped by a bin outside the back door. The swear jar was taken but then left at another location.”

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair sentenced Cobbo to six months imprisonment suspended for two years for the enter premises and stealing charges.

For the breach of bail she was convicted and not further punished.

Mr Sinclair said while the offences were opportunistic in nature, they’re nonetheless “terrifying and damaging to the fabric of society”.

Convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Kieron Lee Cobbo, mother of 14, slapped with prison sentence following string of break-ins, ‘sneak thievery’