LOCAL WEDDING SNATCHER JAILED
WEDDING CRASHER STOLE $3700 FROM BRIDE & GROOM
A MAN who once stole from the dead has been jailed after crashing a wedding and fleeing with nearly $4000 from a “wishing well” gift box.
Ocean Grove man Leigh Webber will spend the next two months behind bars after pleading guilty to the theft yesterday.
On March 3 this year, the 41-year-old arrived uninvited to Breanna and Danny Harrison’s wedding ceremony at the Jack Rabbit Winery in Bellarine.
Dressed in a white shirt and wearing suspenders, Webber used a tool from his car to force open a perspex box and steal envelopes containing gifts for the newlyweds.
Police estimated $3700 cash was inside the stolen envelopes. The money was never recovered.
The Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard the father of two had been attending his neighbour’s wedding at the nearby Terindah Estate when he had an argument with his wife.
Defence lawyer Simon O’Halloran said the partner left the venue before an “upset” Webber decided to “take back” a gift he had provided earlier in the day.
But Webber went to the wrong venue and took off with multiple envelopes.
“It can only be described as a brain fade,” Mr O’Halloran said.
The case instantly sparked national media coverage after police re- leased CCTV footage in a bid to track down Webber.
Mr O’Halloran said the attention had left his client “very embarrassed”.
He said Webber, a plumber, had acted in a “hot-headed way” and “out of instinct”.
Mr O’Halloran urged Ms McGarvie to spare Webber a jail term, arguing he could instead be punished with a strict corrections order.
But police prosecutor Alex Good said prison was within range, saying the theft had impacted both the newlyweds and those who had donated gifts.
Despite being assessed as suitable for a corrections order, Ms McGarvie chose to jail Webber due to the gravity of the crime.
“It was an extraordinarily low act,” she said.
“The community unity would’ve been shocked h ked by this. It was a very brazen offence.
“I think I even remember seeing a clip of it on the television.”
In choosing to jail Webber, Ms McGarvie noted he had a history of dishonesty offences that once resulted in him being locked up in 2013.
On that occasion, Webber’s crimes included stealing items from a man soon after his death.
The widow later told Webber through a victim
impact statement: “Some of the things i you stole I’d had since I was 21, and there were photos of my late husband that I planned to put together for my grandchildren. They are all gone.”
On top of the prison term, Webber was ordered to repay $3700 to the newlyweds. He was also fined $900 and must serve a 12month corrections order for separate offending, including multiple petrol thefts.