Drug pusher sent to jail Thief hit flooded kindy
TOWNSVILLE EIGHT BALL ASSOCIATION
A FATHER of six broke into a Townsville day care and stole four ipads and a credit card.
In a “disgraceful” act, he also turned the fire hose on in the centre, flooding it further.
Worse, this was in the middle of the 2019 flood event.
The day care was one of four businesses Raymond John Lacey broke into, claiming his drug addiction made it hard to pay rent.
Handing down a sentence of three-and-a-half years for multiple charges, Townsville Supreme Court justice David North noted Lacey’s first purchase on the stolen credit card was a case of rum – not his rent.
The court heard it was after the death of his baby in 2017 that Lacey started taking drugs.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said Lacey broke into three flood-affected businesses, on January 31 and February 1, and the Good Start Early Learning Centre in Hyde Park on February 9.
The business was locked and secured when Lacey smashed the window with a fire hose.
“He turned the fire hose on … the business was further inundated,” Mr Walklate said.
Days later, police found Lacey at the West End Hotel and arrested him.
After smelling marijuana, a search of his backpack found 7.115g of methamphetamine, 124g of cannabis, digital scales and clip seal bags.
Lacey pleaded multiple counts.
Defence barrister Harvey Walters said the 42-year-old had taken the time to reflect and the major family events he had missed due to his actions.
“He is very upset that he’s missed significant life events, including the birth of his last son and the graduation of his eldest daughter from school,” he said.
Justice North described the crimes as “disgraceful” and showed a “callous disregard for property owners” affected by the floods.
Lacey will be eligible parole on April 13, 2020. guilty to for
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THE Townsville Eight Ball Association serves as a portal for humble Townsvillians to become national and world pool champions.
The club caters for all grade players and has 110 members that either play socially or competitively.
President Kevin Geissmann joined the club a decade ago after playing pool socially for 10 years.
Mr Geissmann said the association had helped him progress from a B-grade to an AGrade player.
“I used to play a bit of pool at the pub and I met some people and I didn’t realise we even had competitions in Townsville so I joined the club to play competitively,” he said.
“It has progressed my skills playing with top quality players and we have Queensland and Australia reps here in Townsville.”
Townsville
Eight
Ball Association was founded in 2003 and owns 10 pool tables with five permanently set up at the South Townsville Bowls Club.
Mr Geissmann said he loved how the game challenged his strategic thinking.
“The tactics involved are interesting like snookering people and just playing different balls to get different positions in shots,” he said. “It makes you feel really good when you do a shot and it works.”
Members play weekly Wednesday night competitions in teams of five against five, and also hold a range of fun competitions throughout the year.
Mr Geissmann said the biggest misconception about pool was that it was just a laid-back pastime.
“I think a lot of people think it is a pub game rather than a full competition that you can go on to play for Australia,” he said.
“We have an
Australian champion female junior player at the club who competed in Sydney one month ago and won and we have another female player going to the worlds this year.”
The club is looking for 20 to 30 more players to create a CGrade team with A-grade members mentoring the new members. The club hosts one of the biggest paying competitions in Australia every May that was started in 2003.
The Townsville Open attracts up to 144 players from all around the country to compete for $10,000 prizemoney. Mr
Geissmann said the sport was a delicate balance between dealing with highs and lows.
“Winning is very good but you do have to be very good at losing as well; it is one of those sports that if you can’t handle losing you won’t go very well,” he said.
Contact name: Kevin Geissmann
Number: 0410 645 108
Email: townsville8ball@outlook.com Facebook: Townsville 8 Ball Address: South Townsville Bowls Club, 2C Bell Street South Townsville
When: Wednesday nights at 6pm
Membership: $50