Mitchell Drew Purton to be sentenced with over 100 charges dating back to 2019

Breaking into a police station to steal lollies from the front desk and giving an officer a meat cleaver as a “souvenir” are just some of the crimes a Burnie man has pleaded guilty to.

Mitchell Drew Purton. Picture: Supplied.

A man has committed so many crimes that during a facts hearing at the Burnie Magistrates Court, the prosecution took around an hour to go through all of them.

Mitchel Drew Purton pleaded guilty to 104 separate counts of various crimes, mostly involving burglary.

Many of his crimes were committed while on bail for previous matters.

Over the years, the Burnie resident has been banned from Coles, Woolworths, Bunnings and Syd’s IGA at Shorewell Park for persistent burglary.

Despite the bans, he continued visiting these stores and shoplifting from them.

Burnie Supreme and Magisterial Courts

He also stole from other stores in Burnie, such as Spotlight and Best and Less.

After being caught stealing from Coles in Burnie on one occasion, Purton told police he was “homeless and hungry, so he shouldn’t be denied food”.

He also told police that he did not steal because he paid for it using a microchip in his thumb.

Purton’s crimes range from stealing Milky Way chocolate bars to robbing cars and driving while unlicensed and under the influence of methamphetamines.

During one incident in 2019, he offered people shopping at the Rodd and Gunn store in Hobart drugs in exchange for clothing items and was subsequently kicked out.

Another incident saw Purton ask police for a lift to where he was walking.

After receiving a lift, he left a bag in the car and told the officers, “here’s a souvenir”.

In the bag was a meat cleaver.

During the prosecution’s statements of facts, it was also revealed that Purton had gone to petrol stations, filled his car with fuel, and then driven off without paying for them.

The prosecution also said he had stolen motor vehicles multiple times despite not having a driver’s licence.

When Purton was caught with a stolen vehicle on one occasion, he told police that it was his cousin’s car and that he was borrowing it.

However, he could not tell the police what his cousin’s last name was.

In 2021, Purton kicked down the door of the Burnie Police Station in the early hours of the morning.

He was found inside by police officers eating stolen lollies that were for sale at the front desk.

Purton is set to be sentenced at a later date.