Nhill man sentenced for multiple burglaries

Bradley Werner, 42, pleaded guilty to 21 charges of theft, trespassing and driving while disqualified at the Horsham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, December 14.

The court heard Werner was observed travelling on a motorbike south down Kiely Street by an off-duty police officer around 3.50pm on August 2, 2020.

The motorbike did not have a registration plate or functioning headlights.

Later that day, at 4.45pm, Werner was intercepted by police on Kiely Street, where it was revealed that his licence was disqualified at that time.

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At 11pm on September 17, 2020, Werner was observed on CCTV footage attempting to clear leaves on his property on Davis Avenue, Nhill, with a propane blow torch.

Witnesses saw him attempt to light the leaves on fire using the torch in a livestream connected to their property's CCTV camera.

The court heard Werner could not start a flame using the torch and grabbed a two-litre plastic bottle of petrol and diesel to pour on the leaves.

The ensuing fire extended into his neighbour's property through holes in a nearby iron fence. Werner eventually put out the fire with a garden hose and did not alert emergency services.

A search warrant was executed at Werner's property on December 2, 2020, where police found the propane torch and the two-litre plastic bottle.

On December 18, Werner was arrested and taken to the Nhill police station for questioning.

Between 3.30-4.30am on April 24, 2021, Werner was observed on CCTV approaching an old abattoir on 30 Woorak Ni-Ni Lorquon Road, alongside two co-accused.

The three men entered the property by cutting a padlock and forcefully entered a cool room used to store fruits and vegetables. The group took two boxes of vegetables from the room.

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CCTV footage then captured the men using an angle grinder to cut down seven other CCTV cameras - with the one remaining camera on the property capturing the incident.

The court was told that Werner returned to the property between April 24 to 26 and took several other items, including hard drives, power tools, garden hoses, headlights, vacuum cleaners, and computers.

On May 18, 2021, police executed a search warrant, which located a Toyota Camry matching the car's description observed on CCTV footage.

Fingerprints found on the car were matched to Werner. Phone records obtained by police also revealed Werner had travelled toward the property on the nights of the incidents.

At 4.14am on May 14, 2021, Werner was observed by a witness driving into a laneway near Blackwood Lane in a Toyota Landcruiser towing a trailer.

From there, Werner, along with a co-accused, travelled a nearby railway track and stole 15 railway sleepers and 17 power pole cross beams, loading the items onto the trailer.

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CCTV footage observed Werner and the co-accused returning to his address on Davis Avenue.

On August 13, police executed a search warrant at Werner's address and located the stolen items alongside two metal poles with razor blades attached to the end. Werner has been in custody since the arrest.

Magistrate Ronald Saines said the incidents involved a high level of thought and criminality.

"You were persistently dishonest while you were on bail and used a motor vehicle to carry out your last criminal offence," Mr Saines said.

"It was premeditated and planned, using grinders to cut down CCTV cameras and cutting open padlocks. This is all high-level criminality.

"If you come out of jail this time and do what you did last time, the only answer will be no more corrections orders, and you will get a long sentence."

Mr Saines imposed an aggregate term of imprisonment for six months, with 123 days recognised as being served.

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