Alleged ute thief to be held in custody
AN ACCUSED thief who was taken down in a citizens arrest after allegedly stealing a tradie’s ute will remain behind bars after being deemed an unacceptable risk to the already vulnerable Townsville community.
Damian Michael Koch, 39, allegedly stole a tradesman’s ute with a trailer filled with tools in Mundingburra on Monday.
A witness who spotted the car being driven away immediately notified the ute’s owner.
Together they obtained video footage of the incident and began investigating it themselves, the court was told.
Koch was spotted driving the ute around Mundingburra and was later confronted by the men, who then apprehended Koch in a citizens arrest.
It will be alleged police officers found Koch in possession of a pair of bolt cutters, an electrical angle grinder, and also a beer fridge, a queen-sized mattress and a barbecue.
Police prosecutor Liam Wise said it was believed Koch may have obtained the array of items through stealing during the flood event or by taking items off the side of the road.
“Whilst the defendant is not charged under the looting provision it is still significant,” he said.
“The offender is acting in (this) way when the town is still recovering from the disaster.”
Mr Wise argued Koch should be kept behind bars for fear he would cause further harm to the Townsville community during the flood recovery period.
Koch was charged with seven offences including possessing tainted property, stealing, wilful damage, and drug possession.
Defence solicitor Phil Rennick said Koch, a father of two, was employed by a landscaping business doing insurance work on yards, that his own home was inundated during the flood, and that Koch had not committed a similar crime in a while.
“Considering his criminal history I’d be very concerned if he was working on my house,” Magistrate Viviana Keegan said.
The court was told Koch had 10 pages of criminal history and had been on a suspended sentence when the crimes were allegedly committed.
Magistrate Keegan ruled Koch was an unacceptable risk and remanded him in custody until his next court appearance in late February.