A MAN stole a mounted goat’s head from a Creswick pub during a drunken night out, then ran to another pub and tried to hide underneath a car, a court has heard.
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Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday heard that Dale Tracey was drinking with friends at the American Hotel in Creswick on the night of May 5 this year when he became intoxicated.
Then just before 11pm the 36-year-old decided to climb onto a chair and remove the animal head from the wall before hiding it underneath his jacket and leaving the venue.
Staff members saw what happened and chased him down Albert Street before Tracey entered the Farmer’s Arms Hotel and hid underneath an old vehicle parked in the backyard.
Police found him a short time later and he was lodged in the cells to sober up.
The goat’s head was returned to its rightful owner.
Tracey appeared in court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to the theft.
Defence lawyer Natalie Heynes described the offending as “a drunken prank gone wrong”.
“He was out celebrating and things got a little bit out of hand,” she said.
Magistrate Peter Couzens said it was a relief that the animal was unharmed.
“The goat didn’t feel any pain as a result of your exploits,” he joked.
“It was taken back to its rightful place at the hotel where, no doubt it will be taken again.
“This is the sort of thing one sees from time to time, but not normally from a 36-year-old, but a 17 or 18-year-old.”
Tracey was fined $200.
