Whiskey-thief spared jail

A 60-year-old man who stole a bottle of Whiskey from Miles was ordered to repay the store today.

Gary Dillas was seen entering the grocery store on June 11 at 2:25pm.

Dillas left the store and rode off on a bike.

The court heard the security officer was made aware of the incident and went to view the store’s CCTV footage.

He then put it up his arm and left the store.

Dillas was arrested on October 30 and admitted stealing the liquor. The court heard he has previous convictions for stealing liquor.

Addressing the court, he said: “That day, I went to get a few items for my son but I ended up taking a bottle of liquor.”

But Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner said: “I don’t get the impression that you're sorry. You have got a history of walking into people’s stores and taking stuff.

“If things are so bad that you need to get liquor to sell to buy food, where do you get the money to go to Miles?”

Mr Warner gave Dillas a three-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered him to pay for the liquor today.