Medina woman fined $3k for having stolen goods somehow finds humour in sentence

A WOMAN who smirked and laughed after sentencing told the Magistrate she “had no idea” there was stolen property under the patio in her backyard.

Krystal-Lee Van Alphen pleaded guilty to possession of unlawfully obtained property when she appeared at Rockingham Magistrates Court today.

The prosecutor said police conducted a search warrant at Van Alphen’s Medina address on October 10, 2017.

At the home under a back patio, they found an orange air compressor, brush cutter and pressure cleaner that had been reported stolen from a recent burglary in South Yunderup.

Inside, in the lounge room they found a notebook with Van Alphen’s name on it.

Inside the notebook was a hand-written list of the items taken in the burglary with prices next to each item.

Van Alphen had advertised the items for sale through her Facebook buy and sell page called Crystal Van Alphen.

She told police several people had accessed her Facebook account and there were lots of people through her house that had stored the items and used her notebooks.

Magistrate Leanne Atkins questioned Van Alphen’s version of events.

“My husband and I were letting people stay at the house and they kept coming and going; we had no idea the stuff was out the back,” she said.

“I had a whole box full of notebooks in the lounge room.”

The duty lawyer said the facts were accepted and suggested a community based order.

The Corrective Services Officer refused.

“I would argue not your honour given her lack of compliance with previous orders,” she said.

Magistrate Atkins said Van Alphen had previous dishonesty offences.

“I take a very dim view of people like you who take items from a burglary and on-sell them,” she said.

She fined Van Alphen $3000.

“You keep an eye on people in your backyard and your notebook,” she said.

When Van Alphen turned away from the Magistrate she smirked and grinned.

She was also seen laughing with an acquaintance when she showed him her fines notice from the court.

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