Recidivist offender is returned to prison

AT 35, recidivist offender Jason Luke Lander has spent much of his adult life behind bars.

He should have been walking out of prison today having reached his full-time date on his most recent sentence.

However, due to an 18-day crime spree around Toowoomba in December while he was still subject to parole, Lander will be at the mercy of the Parole Board for the next two years after being sentenced in Toowoomba Magistrates Court.

Lander was taken back into custody on New Year’s Day and yesterday appeared by video link from the prison to plead guilty to 17 offences.

Those offences included three burglaries, one in which the homeowner was at home, possessing a range of drugs including cannabis, methamphetamine, testosterone and restricted drugs, possessing three knives in public, and possessing a Category H and a Category A weapon.

Police prosecutor Rowan Brewster-Webb told the court Lander’s latest crime spree had started four days after his parole had been suspended.

And, when eventually caught by police at a Toowoomba motel, he had tried to run, he said.

Lander’s solicitor Kristie Horne, of Jurgensen Horne Lawyers, told the court her client had a partner with whom he intended residing away from Toowoomba when eventually released from prison.

Acting Magistrate Roger Stark sentenced Lander to two years and three months in jail but ordered he be eligible to apply for release on parole as of December 24.