Man who stole bus and tried to break into banks cops jail time
A 42-YEAR-OLD man who admitted to stealing a bus in Toowoomba and attempting to break into two Clifford Garden banks has been handed a 12-month jail term.
Police & Courts
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A 42-YEAR-OLD man who admitted to stealing a bus in Toowoomba and attempting to break into two Clifford Garden banks has been handed a 12-month jail term.
However, Charles William Lehmann was released on immediate parole after the 148 days he had spent in pre-sentence custody was taken into account.
Lehmann appeared via video link from the prison to plead guilty to a total 29 offences including unlawfully possessing the bus, a pipe for smoking drugs and ammunition on July 1.
He was captured on CCTV camera footage attempted to break into banks, including Suncorp and CBA ATMs with a knife overnight May 21.
After his attempted to break into the ATMs were unsuccessful, Lehman had slide the blade of the knife down the door jams in an effort to gain access to the banks which also proved fruitless.
The day after he was charged with the bus offence he was seen by police driving through Chinchilla but had failed to stop and when eventually pulled over was found with a small amount amphetamine.
The day after that, on July 3, he was caught unlawfully using a motor vehicle in Chinchilla and when pulled over found to be driving with a breath/alcohol reading above the high alcohol limit.
He also had suspected stolen property in the vehicle, the court heard.
Lehman had been sentenced in the Toowoomba District Court just last month on charges of entering the grounds of The Glennie School armed with a machete late at night and threatening a security guard who caught him trying to break into a class room.
For those offences he was sentenced to 12 months in jail but released on immediate parole.
His solicitor Jag MacDonald, of MacDonald Law, told the court his client had grown up in Chinchilla but had tragically lost both parents when he was just 18.
His client was a boiler maker by trade and he had work lined up before being charged with these offences.
His client would seek work in that trade possibly on the mines when he is released from prison, he said.
Magistrate Graham Lee sentenced Lehmann to 12 months in jail but declared the 148 days presentence custody as time served and ordered he be released on parole immediately.
Lehmann was ordered to pay a total $1200 restitution for damages including to the bus.