Hand in the tip jar: Darren Lee earns prison time for Denmark Bakery burglary

An Albany man has earned himself prison time after he was sentenced for the theft of a tip and a donation jar from Denmark Bakery in February. Darren Maxwell Lee, 34, appeared via video link from Casuarina Prison in Albany Magistrates Court on October 26 facing one charge of aggravated burglary and commit, and one charge of stealing. Lee had pled guilty to both charges on October 12. Police prosecutor Sgt Peter Yuswak told the court how on April 23, Lee broke into the Denmark Bakery while a co-accused acted as a lookout. Lee removed a security screen to enter the business before stealing $200 from the tip jar and $80 from the donation jar. Lee’s defence lawyer, Elizabeth Hamilton, said Lee committed the offences under a “significant degree of duress”. An individual, labelled Person A by Ms Hamilton, was said to have pulled a gun on Lee in an attempt to threaten him into repaying a debt. Lee then received a call while visiting his parents in Denmark in which Person A threatened to harm Lee’s parents if they did not receive payment. The defence said that Lee was panicked by the thought of his parents coming to harm, which led him to break into the bakery and steal money that could be used to repay the debt. Police prosecution sought imprisonment for the offence, citing Lee’s “significant criminal record” that spanned 17 pages. Lee was sentenced to a conditional suspended imprisonment order of eight months, taking in account the six months already served.