Teen broke into courthouse

MOST people commit a burglary before appearing in court but this Toowoomba teenager thought he’d circumvent the process by breaking into the Toowoomba Courthouse in the first place.

Kaylen Clark Mooney later told police he was very drunk when he broke into the Hume St courthouse about 12.45am, December 15.

He said he thought he had been entering the police station where he had gone to talk to someone, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

Police prosecutor Catherine Nielsen told the court the courthouse CCTV cameras recorded the 18-year-old approaching the doors of the courthouse with a bag which he hit against the doors.

The teenager had initially tried to take a bicycle that was chained to the front of the building but he had been too drunk to ride it.

He had then forced the courthouse doors open and walked inside, taking the elevator to the first floor, Senior Constable Nielsen said.

After walking around the first floor, he returned to the ground floor but found he couldn’t get back outside.

Mooney had then struck an emergency door release button to get the door to open which set off an alarm and police officers arrived from the police station next door.

Mooney had been standing outside the northern side of the building when police found him and he had admitted that he was the one who had broken into the building, Snr Const. Nielsen said.

Having entered the courthouse lawfully this time, Mooney pleaded guilty to entering a premises by break.

His solicitor Nathan Bouchier told the court his client was very drunk at the time.

“He had very little idea what he was doing,” Mr Bouchier said.

However, he had co-operated with police and gave a record of interview during which he made admissions.

His client had no criminal history at all and his mother was in court supporting him, he said.

His client was about to start a 12-week construction course on the Gold Coast that would hopefully lead to an apprenticeship, Mr Bouchier said.

Magistrate Kay Ryan told Mooney that “being drunk is no excuse”.

Breaking into the courthouse was very concerning as a lot of sensitive material was stored there, she said.

However, noting his lack of history and that he was about to start an employment course, Ms Ryan ordered Mooney do 80 hours community service with no conviction recorded.