North Albury man arrested by police at meeting organised for handover to victim

Matthew Cunningham was willing to hand back her $200 purse full of identity and bank cards, but police said he seemed determined not to give her the device.

Eventually, she and Cunningham organised a rendezvous at the APCO service station in North Albury so she could at least retrieve the pursue.

Albury Local Court was told on Monday, September 4, that this was how Cunningham came unstuck, as the victim contacted police and told them about the meeting.

They were waiting for Cunningham when he arrived and he was arrested without incident.

"The accused's vehicle was searched and the complainant's purse and cards were located under the driver's seat."

However, on being taken to the Albury police station, Cunningham claimed he no longer had the phone.

Cunningham, 34, of Bateman Place, did not appear before Albury court registrar Wendy Howard, but a guilty plea to the charge of dealing with the proceeds of crime was entered on his behalf by defence lawyer Tim Hemsley.

The woman had been shopping at Woolworths in Lavington on August 6 and had her purse, with the phone inside, at the checkout.

She lost the items somewhere between there and her car, which was in the Lavington Square undercover car park.

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Two days later, about 8.15pm, Cunningham began messaging her over Facebook, telling her he would be able to return the purse with its contents and the phone.

"The accused began requesting the pin number to the complainant's phone, and sent photos of her purse and identity cards," police said.

Cunningham and the victim continued the conversation over the following few days, with him making "multiple" requests for the phone's pin number.

They then organised to meet at the APCO but she didn't go - police were waiting for Cunningham when he arrived on August 9 about 10pm.

After his arrest, police took a close look at Cunningham's phone.

"The accused's phone was reviewed, which revealed correspondence between himself and several people whose details are known to police."

This, they said, clearly showed Cunningham was trying to find someone who could tell him how to unlock the phone.

Cunningham will be sentenced on September 26.

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