Offending spree earns six years
A MAN who stole more than $36,000 worth of property in a series of thefts, break-ins, ram raids and serious driving offences across the Far North has been jailed for six years.
Ronald Peter Addo was on parole at the time of committing 52 offences over a period of several months at Mission Beach, Cairns, Innisfail, Aloomba, Port Douglas, Atherton and Mareeba.
The Cairns District Court heard that among the charges the 28-year-old went on a “spree of offending” from September 23, 2017, during which he committed 52 offences against 16 businesses and people.
Prosecutor Claudia Georgouras told the court Addo broke into Atlas car rentals in the Cairns CBD on November 2, stealing 16 sets of car keys and driving six cars from the premises onto the street, before driving away in one of the vehicles.
Ms Georgouras said Addo then committed 36 offences in the final four days of his offending.
This included driving erratically on the Bruce Highway on November 12, before attempting to carjack a couple. He then went on to bite a police officer when arrested.
Ms Georgouras said overall 11 Addo stole $36,140 in property, not including vehicles stolen and damage to homes.
She said his “offending persistent in nature”.
Mr Addo pleaded guilty to all 52 charges yesterday, some of which also included domestic violence offences.
Defence barrister Michael Dalton said Addo had experienced some key events in his life that had led to him “going off the rails”.
He said one of those included losing his scholarship with the Broncos when he was 14 years old due to spending a year in custody at Cleveland Youth Detention Centre.
“(Addo) sought solace with drugs and alcohol, which isn’t is the way to deal with those issues,” Mr Dalton said.
“By the time we get to his property offending he’s using ice in a way ... that’s regular. It’s occasionally daily if he can get it and in large quantities.”
Judge Michael Shanahan handed down a head sentence of six years in prison.
“You keep on going this way, it’s going to be life in jail,” he said.
Having already served 423 days in custody, a parole eligibility date was set for January 4, 2020.
Addo is disqualified from holding a driver’s licence for two years, and two domestic violence orders have been extended to March 2024.