Ingham court: Lucinda man Aden Braes pleads guilty to stealing quad bike
A North Queensland man on parole for stealing a vehicle has found himself back behind bars after a badly botched quad bike theft.
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A North Queensland man on parole for stealing a vehicle has found himself back behind bars after a badly botched quad bike theft.
Appearing in the Ingham Magistrates Court via video link from prison, Lucinda man Aden Braes pleaded guilty to unlawfully using the quad bike on May 30.
Prosecutor Kimberley Rogers-Ford said the quad bike was stolen from the coastal town with police tipped off the next day that the bike was at an address in Ingham.
“When police were there they could hear the sound of the quad bike attempting to start, police observed the defendant sitting on the quad bike attempting to start it.”
She said Braes was on parole at the time for unlawful use of a motor vehicle and was subsequently returned to prison.
The Queensland Police Service prosecutor urged an additional 15 months’ jail.
“(The offence) is significantly aggravated by the fact he is on parole for that matter.”
She said the quad bike was returned within 24 hours and agreed with Magistrate Cathy McLennan who noted the offending was “not particularly sophisticated”.
A Community Corrections representative in court told Magistrate McLennan that prior to the incident, Braes had been engaging well with its services except for a recommendation to “further engage with substance-abuse programs”.
The representative said Braes had been released on parole in September 19 last year after he had been jailed for 18 months.
Braes, who was self-represented, conceded the incident “wasn’t a good look” but he was trying to return the quad bike to its rightful owner in Lucinda.
“I apologise to everyone.”
Magistrate McLennan noted that Braes had been jailed a number of times on dishonesty charges since 2016.
Other than the latest incident, she praised his recent track record on parole.
He was convicted, jailed for 6 months, to be served concurrently with his existing sentence, and a fresh parole-eligibility date set for immediate effect.
“You can apply today, but you won’t get out today,” Magistrate McLennan told the defendant.
Corrections said the approval process could take up to three months.
Magistrate McLennan urged Braes to use his time wisely and complete a substance-abuse program.
“You need to do it, you’ve been in and out of jail for the last few years, you want to put a full-stop on that and move forward,” she said.
“That takes a lot of courage … look around you (in prison), those men around you didn’t have the courage to do those substance-abuse programs.”
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Originally published as Ingham court: Lucinda man Aden Braes pleads guilty to stealing quad bike
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