A man has faced court after the owners of stolen water ski gear caught him trying to sell it on Facebook Marketplace.
Andrew Bolton, 35, of Shepparton, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to handling stolen goods.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Ethan Hamill said an estimated $45,000 worth of water ski gear was stolen from Mulwala on August 1, 2023.
The stolen gear was seen listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace from Bolton’s personal account on February 2.
Some of the stolen gear included helmets, KD trick skis, water skis and water jackets, which Bolton had kept at his parents’ house, Sen Constable Hamill said.
Bolton’s solicitor, Luke Slater, said his client had gone through a “challenging situation” with the mother of his children being in jail on remand for a year and a half on a serious charge.
Bolton was using drugs last year and tried to use the profits from the stolen gear to buy more, Mr Slater said.
He wasn’t aware of how much the gear was worth when he attempted to sell it for a few hundred dollars, and said it was a “really, really stupid decision”, Mr Slater said.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski said Bolton’s behaviour was “unsophisticated”, and it was “pretty clumsy” of him to try to sell stolen goods on Facebook Marketplace, especially when the owners recognised the photos.
Mr Zebrowski said although it seemed to be a “one-off stupid mistake”, he had to “sting you a bit, to make sure you won’t do it again”.
Bolton was fined $1200.