A thief has admitted to a “very silly” mistake in pinching a beloved gorilla statue from a retirement village.
Matthew Newbould today pleaded guilty to stealing the 20kg garden ornament named Garry from a retirement village at St Helena in Melbourne’s north-east on June 6.
The 33-year-old went to the Leith Park village with a friend to buy a chest of drawers when he spotted the statue perched on tree stumps, the Heidelberg Magistrates Court was told.
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Newbould grabbed Garry and placed him onto the back of a ute he had hired from Bunnings before driving away.
A member of the public saw the gorilla perched in the back of the vehicle and snapped a photo before contacting police.
Newbould was arrested on July 5 and a search of his phone revealed text messages to friends, including one that said: “LOL I stole a gorilla, so what?”
He was also disqualified from driving at the time of the theft, after losing his licence in July last year.
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His lawyer, Rebecca Elder, told the court Newbould made a stupid and opportunistic decision to steal Garry and he never had any intention to sell the statue.
Newbould also conceded to Magistrate Michael Wighton that he had made a poor mistake.
“It was very silly,” he told the court.
Elder asked for Newbould to be handed a fine or a community work order as they were both within range for the crime.
But Wighton said the combination of the theft and unlicensed driving made the offending more serious.
He ordered Newbould to undertake a community corrections order assessment on Monday, ahead of a sentencing hearing in September.
“Just keep working on staying out of trouble,” Wighton told him.
The 33-year-old’s bail was extended to his next court date.
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