An inmate who was among the first to escape Canberra's prison went on a crime spree while on parole, burning a luxury sports car and using another stolen car to ram raid businesses.
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Patrick McCurley, 31, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday to six years and three months in jail. The court heard McCurley - who escaped from the Alexander Maconochie Centre in 2016 - previously pleaded guilty to 19 offences, which were committed between March 14 and 28, 2019.
The court heard between March 15 and 19, McCurley broke into a Canberra aged care facility twice and stole two Apple iPads, two phones, two sets of keys, and a car.
His Facebook profile shows he asked friends, "who has a car they don't want[?]" on March 15 and said, "it's time to earn my keep so lock up your shit mother f---ers I'm earching [sic]" on March 5.
On March 23, McCurley was a passenger in a stolen Volkswagen Polo about 3.05am when he and a co-offender tried to break into a Lyneham cafe and used the car to ram raid the post office.
The pair later tried to ram raid a newsagency and about 3.30am tried to break through a car wash gate. After inspecting the gate, they came back to the car wash with straps attached to the car and tried to pull it open.
When that failed, they left and returned to the car wash another two times with a sledgehammer and a shovel. They eventually broke into the office at the car wash, but left with nothing.
Between 4.25am and 4.36am, McCurley and his co-offender ram raided a Fyshwick flooring store, and broke into a Fyshwick auction house. McCurley set the Volkswagen on fire in grassland at Dunlop about 8.15am.
On March 24, he burned a Jaguar F-Type in the car park of an apartment complex. A co-offender stole the luxury car from a car yard.
Justice John Burns said in court on Friday: "There was certainly potential for the fire to spread, threatening property and human life."
On March 27, McCurley used another stolen car to ram a garage door in Curtin.
Justice Burns on Friday said McCurley had an "extremely extensive criminal history", but he wanted to give him an opportunity to attend rehabilitation soon for his drug use.
He backdated McCurley's jail term of six years and three months to begin on April 3, 2019, and end on July 2, 2025. He will be eligible for parole on August 2, 2022, if he demonstrates a commitment to rehabilitation and lines up a placement in a facility.
The 19 charges McCurley was sentenced for include five counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of theft, two counts of damaging property, and two counts of damaging property with fire.
McCurley climbed out a window at his prison block in 2016 and used a ladder-like cable tray to scale three fences. Police arrested him nearly 48 hours later after a car chase at Majura.
Cassandra Morgan
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
