Mackay dad Karum James Alexander Fisher sentenced for 542-day crime spree

Having sliced off his ankle tracker, a father of two took a motorbike he found on Facebook Marketplace for a “test drive” and never returned. Now, he’s finally been brought before a court.

A Mackay father of two was “at large” for more than 500 days after cutting off his ankle monitor.

A father of two, effectively on the run for 542 days after cutting off his ankle monitor and stealing a motorbike, has been told he needs “clinical care”.

Karum James Alexander Fisher, 31, appeared in Mackay Magistrates Court this week for charges dating back to 2023.

The court heard he’d cut his ankle monitor and 12 days later, stolen $300 worth of booze from a Mackay BWS.

He then arranged to meet a seller off Facebook Marketplace, took a Kawasaki motorbike for a “test drive” and kept it without paying.

Over the next couple of days, the Mackay man was seen filling up the tank twice without paying totalling $43, all while under a disqualified driver’s license, the court heard.

It was only in April this year that he was returned to custody.

He pleaded guilty to eight charges including stealing, driving without a license disqualified by a court order, stealing after previous conviction, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and wilful damage.

Magistrate Lewis Shillito told Fisher “you were unlawfully at large on a parole suspension for a lengthy period of time, 542 days which means that your sentence was not running during that period which is why you’re in custody”.

He said the charges relating to the use of the motorbike “had a bit of bite to it in the degree of sophistication involved in planning” and that the slicing of the ankle monitor was “a concerning feature”.

“There is a need to set an example that people who do that and absconded will be treated extremely harshly to ensure others don’t act similarly,” he said.

Defence lawyer Sarah-Jayne Reid said her client had suffered abuse at a young age and turned to drugs to self-medicate by his early teens.

Ms Reid’s client also spent a portion of his adult life homeless and had an ex-wife with whom he shared two children in South Australia.

Magistrate Shillito acknowledged Mr Fisher had “plenty of life ahead” of him and took into account his troubled past when laying out his sentence.

“You’re not youthful in the eyes of the law but you’re a young man in my view and there is plenty of opportunity,” he said.

“I’m really sorry to hear about your issues of a child.

“The fact that you needed to self-medicate as a child is very horrible things to hear.

“You’re going to need more than just a place … and a shoulder to lean on, you’re going to need clinical care and support that’s going to involve at the starting point a general practitioner and then following recommendations.

“Otherwise, you don’t know where this rabbit hole goes in reality and this courtroom does and it’s not a happy place for you or the community.”

Mr Fisher was handed a 16-month head sentence starting from his pre-sentence custody in April and was disqualified from driving for a further two and a half years.

Originally published as Mackay dad Karum James Alexander Fisher sentenced for 542-day crime spree