Wake-up call for amateur thief

AN “amateurish” robber will walk from jail with a “wake-up call” after spending about nine months behind bars.

Liam George Soanes, 23, faced Townsville District Court from custody on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to 11 offences, including robbery in company, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, trespass and possessing dangerous drugs.

Crown Prosecutor Tim Hancock said the young father was on bail for other offending when he threatened staff at the Seaview Hotel bottle shop and made off with two bottles of spirits late on May 29, 2020.

Mr Hancock described the offending as “amateurish” and said the 23-year-old’s actions showed “little to no thought”.

“He walked straight up to the counter area … he threatened the staff there,” he said.

“It was around that time that a second male offender entered the store and his face was concealed by a hooded jumper.” Soanes told a staff member he would “smash (her) over the head” before running off with the two 1.25L bottles of Bundaberg rum.

The court was told that the unlawful use of a motor vehicle charge stemmed from a photograph that showed Soanes, among others, inside a stolen vehicle in Cairns. Further, on January 21, 2021, police were called to the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre by security and officers found Soanes under a stairwell and charged him with trespass.

Aside from the robbery, which Mr Hancock described as low-level, he said Soanes’s charges were predominantly street offending.

“It can at best be described as amateurish, spur-of-themoment (with) little to no thought,” Mr Hancock said.

Defence barrister Harvey Walters said his client had a drug and alcohol problem, which contributed to his offending.

Despite this, Mr Walters said Soanes showed prospects of rehabilitation.

“What he does have going for him is he actually is a qualified panel beater … he then qualified as a butcher,” he said. “His intention your honour is to return to the meatworks after his release.”

Judge John Coker said he hoped the time behind bars was a “wake-up call” for Soanes to turn his life around.

He was given a head sentence of two years’ custody with immediate parole release. The 266 days he spent behind bars on remand were considered time already served.