No jail for theft in home of senior

It was shortly after midnight on May 2, 2022, when a 76year-old man woke to the sound of someone in his home.

He got up and was confronted by Dylan John Werner.

The 29-year-old abattoir worker had snuck into the elderly man’s Stanthorpe home through an unlocked door and had stolen a packet of cigarettes, but was not content.

With one arm, Werner pinned the elderly victim against a wall and with the other arm he removed the man’s wallet and stole a few hundred dollars in cash.

Werner shoved the man to the ground and fled with his phone, the cash and the keys to his mobility scooter.

Meanwhile, the victim was left alone and without a phone, so he was not able to call the police until his carer arrived later that day.

On Monday, Werner fronted Warwick District Court to plead guilty to seven offences that arose from that wild night, including robbery in company with violence.

The court was told that Werner’s violent evening started with getting kicked out of the Stanthorpe Hotel after fighting with two patrons and breaking a window.

Crown prosecutor Tegan Little told the court Werner and the teens then entered the elderly man’s home and robbed him.

“The complainant, luckily, did not suffer serious injuries.”

Acting for the defence, barrister Jessica Goldie said her client had co-operated with the police and was genuinely remorseful.

Judge Dennis Lynch KC accepted that Werner had made efforts to turn his life around and noted that while the offending warranted jail time he was concerned serving time in prison would derail the progress Werner had already made.

After pleading guilty, Werner was sentenced to three years in jail with immediate parole.