A Launceston man who stole a woman’s car from an Invermay petrol station while she was inside paying for fuel has made an appearance in court.
24-year-old Dylan John Robert Digney stole the white Ford Ranger on February 20 after he noticed that the woman had left her car keys inside the vehicle.
He was captured on CCTV casually walking along Invermay Road before taking the opportunity to hop into the car and speed away, despite being disqualified from driving.
Later that night, police spotted Digney in the stolen car at an address in Summerhill before he again sped away at around 120km/h.
Digney later surrendered himself to Police, admitting that he saw “saw a free car sitting there, jumped in and took off”.
Two weeks later, Digney’s crime spree continued when he and an unidentified accomplice broke in to multiple vehicles at the UTAS Newnham campus on March 2.
The pair smashed the windows and made off with property, including Adidas sneakers, blue Crocs shoes and a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses worth $1,870.
In court, Digney pleaded guilty to several charges including motor vehicle stealing, evading police and burglary.
Digney’s defence argued that his client’s actions were driven by desperation due to a transient lifestyle and mental health issues.
The defense also attributed some of Digney’s actions to his increased use of methylamphetamine, which he had recently managed to reduce.
Magistrate Brown ordered reimbursement to victims, with final sentencing adjourned to July 21 for further deliberation.
