A Springdale Heights man has tried to stop his partner finding about his pokies losses by making a false police report of being robbed by four men.
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Police said Bradley Ewan Carr knew his plan was getting “out of control” when his partner called police about the incident.
But even then, Albury Local Court has heard, “he felt he had to stick to his version even though he knew it was a lie”.
Carr did not even front court when his case was listed for mention, resulting in magistrate David O’Connor convicting him and issuing a warrant for his arrest.
The 21-year-old appeared the following day to answer the charge of false representation resulting in police investigation and will now be sentenced on Tuesday.
It was about 1.30pm on September 18 when police went to a property in Glenelg Drive after receiving a report of someone claiming he had been assaulted and robbed by four men in the Springdale Heights area.
They spoke to Carr, who told them he had been to the local IGA supermarket where he bought a few items before using an ATM to withdraw $340 from his Commonwealth Bank account.
Carr said he then left the supermarket and walked across Cardo Drive and entered a park, where he was assaulted and robbed.
That left him with a lump to his right cheek, four red scratches and a ripped shirt.
Investigators immediately began canvassing the area, but were not able to get any information from people in the area.
They then went to the supermarket to inspect the store’s CCTV footage and to look at two receipts from Carr’s shopping trip.
This revealed he made a $95 cash withdrawal and had also bought items totalling $65.63.
Carr also went to a Hume Bank ATM and withdrew $300 from his Commonwealth Bank account.
The police’s next stop was the Springdale Heights Tavern, where they discovered he had lost $260 playing on poker machines – leaving him, police said, with just under $70.
Police said Carr was arrested on October 12 and admitted to making a false report after watching the footage.
“The accused confirmed he had lost money on the poker machines and in fear of explaining this to his de facto, he came up with the plan to tell her he had been assaulted and robbed.”
Carr told police the scratches were from his dog and that it was he who had ripped his shirt.