A WENDOUREE repeat offender who began using ice to deal with the death of his father only to resort to stealing to pay for his addiction has been jailed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Daryl Morgan, 31, appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges between 2013 and 2015, including affray and theft of a motor vehicle.
The court heard Morgan was involved in an alleged burglary in his own street on September 18 where $8600 was taken from a bedroom of a neighbour’s house.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Sam Young said the owner of the house arrived home and, while making a phone call in his driveway, saw a male in a white top run from his backyard.
He said a search warrant was executed on the accused’s house after the same white top was seen at his property. The court heard police found two snap-lock bags of a crystal substance, believed to be ice, and $1000 during the search warrant.
The court also heard Morgan was involved in an altercation where he allegedly used a wooden post to hit a woman in 2013.
Senior Constable Young said Morgan had accompanied a co-accused to a Ballarat property where an argument broke out between several people.
He said the accused punched a woman before using a wooden post to hit her in the back. It was also alleged he hit a second woman with the same post.
Morgan denied assaulting anyone in a police interview.
Morgan was also charged with the alleged theft of a car and the theft of $5000 worth of valuables including an antique coin collection in May, 2014. In the same year he was charged after a unregistered gun was found at his house.
Morgan’s defence lawyer, Andrew Madden, told the court his client’s offending escalated in 2013-2014 after he took to using ice.
“It’s a familiar tale unfortunately,” he said.
“The death of his father hit him deeply … he used ice to deal with his grief.”
Mr Madden said Morgan “sought easy money” for drugs and resorted to offending to “feed” his drug habit.
He said Morgan acknowledged he hadn’t dealt with his grief in the right way and asked the magistrate to consider a prison term with a CCO.
Magistrate Michelle Hodgson sentenced Morgan to a 18-month prison term with a non-parole period of 12 months.
He was also fined $1500.
