A man has earned himself a 12 month community correction order after he stole a Snap Fitness employee's wallet and AirPods.
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Jonathon Winters, 31, of Brisbane Street, Dubbo appeared before Dubbo Local Court via audio-visual link (AVL) from Bathurst Correctional Centre to plead guilty to the following charges:
- Dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception,
- Custody of knife in public place first offence, and
- Goods in custody.
Police documents before the court said on March 3, 2023 around 9.15am the victim was working at Snap Fitness in Dubbo trying to fix the main entrance door to the gym.
The victim placed his Snap Fitness black duffel bag on the staircase outside of the gym and forgot to bring it inside once he fixed the door.
At 9.40am, Winters visited the gym to ask for a membership, and once he received the paperwork, he left the building.
At this point the victim remembered his bag and when he went outside to grab it, he couldn't find it.
The victim got a notification about 10am saying his Westpac Debit Card was used to make a purchase of $34 at an Ampol Service Station.
He went to the station to find Winters but he didn't, instead asking nearby police for their help.
While talking with police, Winters rode towards officers on a pushbike.
He was stopped and told he was going to be searched due to being suspected of having stolen items.
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During the search, police found the victim's AirPods.
Winters said they were his but when he connected his mobile phone to them, they were identified as the victims due to the name on the bluetooth list.
Police then felt a square object hidden in the lower region of Winters' leg under his denim jeans.
Winters said it was a leg brace, but police thought it was a wallet so he was taken to an area to be strip searched.
According to the police documents Winters said "it's his wallet but I did not steal it, I was taking it back to him".
Winters then pulled out the victim's wallet, which had the man's Westpac Debit card.
Once the search was over, Winters was questioned regarding the stolen items.
He said he didn't steal the wallet or use it at Ampol, but rather he found it because a group of boys dropped the wallet and AirPods out of the stolen bag and he picked them up.
The police took photos of the stolen items and gave them back to the victim.
Sometime later, police went to Ampol Service Station where they saw CCTV showing Winters using the Westpac Debit Card to purchase a packet of cigarettes.
On March 4, 2023 police were doing patrols along Bourke Street when they saw Winters.
He was searched and found to have a large kitchen knife under his trousers.
Aboriginal Legal Service solicitor Naadirah Sathar told the court during sentencing that Mr Winters was on a good behaviour bond at the time, and the amount stolen ($34) placed the incident towards the lower end of the spectrum.
Ms Sathar also said while police found a knife on Winters, "it wasn't as though he was pointing it at anyone".
"At the time of the offence he was on drugs but he has expressed remorse, and has said the $34 was not worth it," Ms Sathar said.
Ms Sathar said Winters experienced "a lot of shame" when he had to be strip searched as people drove past could see.
"He has been watching the news in jail and has seen that knife matters are dealt with seriously - something he brought up with me without prompting," she said.
Magistrate Gary Wilson said Winters must be on "good behaviour" for the duration of his order.
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