Offender trying to ‘clean up his act’

A COURT has heard how a father who attempted to break into a charity store has “cleaned up his act” after discovering he has a daughter.

Ashley Dylan Mordaunt’s defence solicitor Ralph Lake told the court that since the two counts of attempted break and enter occurred on a Lifeline Megastore in Gladstone in 2017, Mordaunt had discovered he had a seven-year-old daughter and “cleaned up his act”.

Mordaunt faced Ayr Magistrates Court this week, where he pleaded guilty to five charges including two counts of attempt enter premises with intent in March 2017.

The court heard sometime between March 2 and 7 in 2017, Mordaunt had attempted to break into a Lifeline vehicle and removed louvres on the building to gain entry to the vehicle and megastore searching for cash and items of value.

Mr Lake said the 28-yearold had been educated to Year 11 and only learnt that he was a father in January this year and that since then he had cleaned up his addiction to methamphetamine and marijuana.

He said at the time of the attempted break and enters, Mordaunt was been drinking and had taken anti-depressants.

Mr Lake said Mordaunt had described his offending as “one of the dumbest things I have ever done”.

Acting Magistrate Scott Luxton said the fact Mordaunt targeted a charity business meant the offending was more concerning.

“It is always a concern of the court when people either enter premises or in this instance attempt to enter premises,” Mr Luxton said.

“This was a business premises in Gladstone, but more to that it was a community business.

“It is there for people suffering financially to get easy access to various items that they require to live their day-to-day life.”

Mordaunt was sentenced to two months’ prison wholly suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay $454.56 restitution to the business.