A 32-year-old man who stole a truck from Veolia Environmental Services after ramming through a cyclone fence has been found guilty by a Supreme Court jury.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cade Geordie Haines, of Karoola, was unanimously found guilty by the jury of of burglary, attempted stealing, three counts of injuring property and stealing on November 25, 2018.
The jury heard that Haines was wearing a hoodie, gloves, a face mask and a distinctive pair of black and white shoes when he broke into Veolia about 5.20am.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The jury saw 40 minutes of CCTV footage which showed a man in black and white shoes break in to Veolia office and remove keys.
Haines tried to steal a Mazda utility by ramming it backwards and forwards into the fence for 10 minutes before giving up. He then stole a Isuzu truck and smashed through the fence.
A breakthrough in the police investigation came when a detective visited Haines' home and spotted similar shoes in the lounge room.
He also saw a Isuzu truck in the driveway and after searching a database noticed it was the model stolen from Veolia.
The detective checked Haines' Facebook page and saw an image from November 3 of a pair of black and white shoes with a message: "Thanks Mum for giving me these".
Haines claimed he found the truck by the side of the road and took it home.
Crown prosecutor Claire Darvell said damage caused by the event amounted to $40,000 including $25,000 worth of damage to the truck.
Haines interrupted a sentencing hearing several times prompting defence counsel Fran McCracken to explain to Justice Michael Brett that her client was in a state of disbelief about the jury verdict.
He told Ms McCracken that drugs had been a major problem for him at the time.
However, Ms McCracken said that she could not make the submission because Haines' defence was that it wasn't him and he was not there.
"I'll sentence him on the basis that he is upset about the verdict," Justice Brett said.
Justice Brett said that it was an extremely serious set of crimes.
"The disrespect to other peoples property and livelihoods and disruption to peoples lives at 5.30-6.00 in the morning is palpable," he said.
The court heard that Haines was found guilty of a crime spree in December 2019 for which he was sentenced to a Community Correction Order. Justice Brett said he wanted to know how he was faring on the order before sentencing him on April 13 at 4.15pm.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
