No third time's a charm for young criminal

Updated November 2 2012 - 12:29pm, first published October 12 2009 - 12:50pm

A 23-YEAR-OLD man was held for three separate crimes on the same day after police raided his home for drugs and found more than $3000 worth of stolen electrical items, a court was told yesterday.Ballarat Magistrates Court was told police searched Kale Walker's home on April 16 and found four grams of amphetamines in several plastic bags stored in his freezer.They then found lights worth $3300 that had been stolen on April 13 from a house under construction in Buninyong, and power tools in his garage.Police prosecutor Sergeant Bob Anderson said Walker admitted to trafficking amphetamine to pay for rent.He said Walker told police about the burglary and that he bought stolen power tools from another person between April 2 and 16.Sgt Anderson said Walker and three co-offenders had parked their car 50m from the Buninyong house-site before breaking into it at 2.30am.The court was told they removed a number of boxes, which contained lights, and Walker stored them at his home.On April 11, police stopped Walker in Mair St for riding an unregistered motorcycle. He was breath-tested at the Ballarat Police Station, where he blew a blood alcohol level of .105.Walker, of Redan, pleaded guilty to eight charges, including burglary, trafficking amphetamine, using cannabis, theft, dealing with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime, drink-driving and driving while suspended.Defence lawyer Mike Wardell told the court his client had lost his job at the time of the offence. He said Walker sold $100 worth of amphetamines on one day to pay rent. Magistrate Peter Couzens said he had no option but to sentence Walker to jail, telling him he had made a dramatic entry into serious crime."You have entered the world of criminal offending with energy," Mr Couzens said.Walker was sentenced to four months' jail, suspended for two years for the burglary and theft charges.He was fined $850 with conviction for trafficking amphetamines, $150 for using cannabis and $850 for the driving offences.

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