Daniel John Schafer pleads guilty to stealing, attempted fraud for failing to sell a stolen nail gun

A 25-year-old Toowoomba man who pinched an $899 nail gun from Bunnings couldn’t sell it online, so tried to return the item without a receipt a court was told.

A Toowoomba man has shot himself in the foot when he attempted to make some quick cash with a stolen nail gun after he failed to find a buyer for the stolen property online.

Daniel John Schafer, 25, appeared in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to stealing and attempted fraud, as well as driving offences including driving while disqualified.

The court was told that at 1pm on May 1 Schafer and a co-accused were captured on CCTV at Bunnings in North Toowoomba taking a $899 nail gun pack, leaving through the tradies area without paying for the item.

“The same day (Schafer) and the co-accused posted advertisements on Facebook offering to sell the nail gun for $700 but neither of them were successful,” police prosecutor Cameron Francis said.

On May 5 Schafer then went to the Bunnings Toowoomba West and told staff he had recently purchased the nail gun to obtain a refund.

“He was refused a refund because he wasn’t able to produce a receipt,” Mr Francis said.

The court was told on May 20 police went to the co-accused’s address, where he made a full admission to stealing the nail gun.

On the same day police responded to a complaint of an unregistered trail bike on the streets of Charleville when Schafer was stopped and questioned in relation to the stolen nail gun.

The court was told Schafer said he couldn’t recall the theft as he may have been drug affected at the time.

Police investigations in Charleville found the trail bike to be unregistered and uninsured, and Schafer said he was disqualified from driving for 24 months for unlicensed driving since March 3.

Schafer’s solicitor Brad Skuse said his client was unaware that riding a motorcycle on the footpath was an offence, and it was only for a short period of time.

Mr Skuse said his client was a qualified carpenter and father of two, including a six-month-old daughter.

Magistrate Graham Lee convicted Schafer and sentenced him to a three month jail term suspended for 12 months. Schafer was also fined $850 and disqualified from driving for two years.