Jonathon Thomas Charles Williams: Wagin man guilty of breaking into and stealing meat, tobacco from IGA

A Wagin man has avoided jail after breaking into the town’s IGA and stealing more than $10,000 worth of meat and tobacco. Jonathon Thomas Charles Williams pleaded guilty to burglary and stealing on October 15 in the Narrogin Magistrates Court. The 34-year-old initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but changed his pleas after reviewing CCTV footage before appearing in court. Prosecutor Sgt Robert Jonas-Green told the court Williams threw a brick through Wagin IGA’s front glass door on July 7 at 9.43pm and filled a bag with meat products after entering the store. Williams re-entered the IGA a second time and stole cigarettes. The total amount of goods stolen was $11,488. Sgt Jonas-Green said police arrested Williams on July 8 and found some of the meat, which was no longer saleable. No cigarettes were found. Defence lawyer Shonda Paton said her client was drunk, his actions were “unsophisticated” and he did not remember committing the crime or where he put the cigarettes. Ms Paton said since working with Holyoake, Williams had shown he could improve because he had returned negative drug tests from July after using illicit drugs daily for 13 years. Sgt Jonas-Green said Williams made the conscious choice to re-enter the store and steal the cigarettes and it was concerning that the high-value item had not been recovered. “Stealing from this store does not just impact the store but the community as it is the only grocery store in Wagin,” he said. Williams had a lengthy criminal history that included police breaches, motor vehicle theft, assaults, domestic violence, past prison sentences, community orders and $13,385 in outstanding fines and was categorised as a high-risk re-offender. Magistrate Tanya Watt said Williams’ offending had escalated and “throwing a brick through the glass door of what is one of the most important shops in Wagin, it does warrant a term of imprisonment”. She sentenced Williams to 14 months imprisonment conditionally suspended for 14 months for him to explore residential rehabilitation due to his negative drug tests, telling him “this is your chance, but it is your last chance”.