A MAGISTRATE has dismissed claims by a lawyer that an opportunistic theft of fuel from a service station was trivial.
Sean Douglas Dale pleaded guilty to eight stealing charges when he appeared at Rockingham Magistrates Court on July 3.
The prosecutor said Dale had gone to the same Caltex Service Station on Warnbro Sound Avenue eight separate times between January and March.
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READ NOWOn each occasion he put fuel in his car and drove off without paying to a combined value of $433.23.
He was identified through CCTV.
His lawyer Malcolm Ayoub said they were opportunistic and trivial matters but Magistrate Michael Wheeler disagreed.
“They’re not trivial – its ‘parasiting’ off the local service station. It’s not a multi-national oil company, it’s Joe Bloggs the service station owner,” he said.
Mr Ayoub asked for a spent conviction but it was refused by Magistrate Wheeler.
“He’s a dishonest man,” he said.
Magistrate Wheeler fined him $2000 and ordered he pay $433 reparation to the service station.
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