A Toodyay man has been fined $3,500 after he pleaded guilty to stealing $15,000 worth of items from fishing stores and selling them on Facebook.
Dwayne Reginald Nash pleaded guilty to 12 counts of stealing at BCF stores in Midland, Belmont, Cannington, Balcatta and Kelmscott, when he appeared in Northam Magistrates Court on Monday 2 July.
Nash stole the fishing items, including reels and lures, between 17 March and 2 June 2018, hiding the items in his clothing and walking out of the stores.
He then advertised the stolen items online on a page he ran called Fishing Tackle Perth.
BCF investigated the thefts after realising they were losing stock where Nash was identified by CCTV footage.
During a police search, more than $5,000 worth of fishing items were recovered.
BCF estimated the total loss to be between $10,000 and $15,000.
Magistrate Jennifer Hawkins said the thefts were ‘very entrepreneurial’.
“This wasn’t a one off,” she said.
“This was a concerted effort which is a relevant factor for sentencing.”
Nash, who is currently unemployed, said he stole the items due to financial pressures.
Nash was sentenced to a 12 month community supervision order, was fined $3,500 and ordered to pay $5,000 to BCF.
All recovered property is to be returned.
