Mark James Quirey jailed for string of petty theft, fraud

The Toowoomba man pleaded guilty to dozens of petty fraud and stealing offences that were fuelled by drug addiction.

Mark James Quirey pleaded guilty to a string of fraud offences, including using a stolen bank card to buy McDonalds.

Mark James Quirey was released on parole after spending 204 days in custody for a string of petty crimes with the magistrate warning he’ll be sent straight back to the cells if he doesn’t tackle his addictions.

On Friday, the Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard the 28-year-old Quirey had a history of drug use fuelled by offences of dishonesty.

Regarding his recent offending, police prosecutor Bettina Trenear said Quirey stole a wallet and three bank cards from an unlocked car in Cotswold Hills and visited nine stores across the city.

Between 9.52pm on September 10 and 6.42am on September 11 Quirey spent $41 at the Harristown McDonald’s, $29.80 at the Toowoomba West McDonald’s, $99.98 at 7-Eleven, $100 at BP on Tor, $47 at Freedoms Fuels, $100 at BP North Toowoomba and $46.90 at Cole Express.

Four days later he came into possession of a tainted credit card linked to a Toowoomba electrical business.

At about 1pm on September 14 he attended Rebel Sports in Grand Central and made three purchases totalling about $1214 before spending another $469 at the Hype DC shoe store.

Police arrested Quirey on September 16 after raiding his Toowoomba home and recovering stolen property and drugs.

He was charged with dozens of fraud, stealing, drug and property crimes to which he pleaded guilty.

Acting in his defence, solicitor Sarah-Jane MacDonald said her client had plenty of time to reflect on what triggered his offending while serving pre-sentence custody.

“This is the longest time he has spent in custody,” she said.

“He instructs that this has been quite a tough period of time for him because he is not a people person.”

Ms MacDonald added that Quirey had engaged well with previous probation and parole orders but relapsed in early 2021.

Magistrate Kay Ryan handed down a head sentence of 15 months in jail and released Quirey on court-ordered parole after noting time already served.

She urged Quirey to get on top of his alcohol, drug and gambling addiction

“You might stop doing one but then you might turn to something else and that is something you will have to address,” Ms Ryan said.