Thief spends time in jail after mass watch theft

A man who smashed his way into Bunbury Forum with a hammer and stole $25,000 worth of watches before leading police on a high speed chase will be spending time behind bars. Brett Anthony O’Rourke appeared in Bunbury Magistrate’s Court on Thursday via video link from Bunbury Prison facing a string of charges over the alcohol-fuelled rampage. The offending began about 9.55pm on May 17, when the 34-year-old father of one smashed the glass doors into the shopping centre, before smashing the windows of Angus & Coote jewellers. He then stole 34 watches, worth $22,000 to $25,000, with the incident captured on CCTV. During the burglary, a bandage came off O’Rourke’s thumb, spraying out blood as he swung the hammer. A couple of hours later, just after midnight, police observed O’Rourke driving a Mitsubishi Lancer in Glen Iris and pursued the vehicle. Prosecuting sergeant Darren Clifton told the court police followed O’Rourke down a dead-end street before he turned around and sped off, leading them on a high speed chase, during which he drove at 145km/h in a 70km/h zone. Sgt Clifton said O’Rourke drove along South Western Highway and Martin-Pelusey Road to evade police, before crashing and fleeing the scene. “He was driving at 145km/h until he failed to negotiate an intersection, crashed into a tree stump and then fled on foot,” Sgt Clifton said. A bag containing 31 of the watches — the majority of which were covered in blood — were found buried in a riverbank in nearby bushland and he was arrested at his home about 7.30am that morning. Appearing as duty counsel, Jodette Reynolds said O’Rourke had “extreme regret and remorse” over the incident. “This is not behaviour that is normal for Mr O’Rourke,” she said. “… He wants to apologise to the Bunbury Forum, Angus & Coote, the police and the community.” She said the former chef — who last worked in 2011 before he was in a serious speedboat accident overseas which left him with severe osteoporosis — drank a whole bottle of bourbon in 1.5 hours before the offending. He also faced charges for cutting the external perimeter fence of a business in Davenport and rummaging through vehicles’ tool boxes over four nights from December 31 to January 3. Magistrate Robert Young called the offences “very serious”. “You’ve gone to the shopping centre and smashed your way in,” he said. “Not only are you driving in a highly dangerous manner, but you’re doing it while under the influence of alcohol.” He said while his record had not reached the stage of imprisonment, there had been “quite consistent offending over the years”. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison — backdated to May 17 — and disqualified from driving for two years.