Christopher Eric Dyson avoids jail for stealing cash from workplace

A man with an entrenched drug addiction says he stole money from his workplace to keep his family together. Christopher Eric Dyson, 34, was sentenced in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court last week for a string of offences, which including stealing $2000 from the safe at Return-It, where he had worked for four months. After his theft was discovered, Dyson broke back into the business the following day with two co-accused and unsuccessfully tried to steal more items from the safe. When it did not work, he grabbed a cash tin used for the social club, containing about $100, and left. After being arrested by police, Dyson told them he did it to keep his family together and that it was his own “stupidity”. Dyson was sentenced for 16 charges on Thursday for offending, which saw him in possession of motorcycle racing clothing and helmets that had been stolen from a self-storage unit in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Other charges included possession of LSD, cannabis, and a knuckle duster on various dates up to May this year. Defence lawyer Aaron Plenderleith said Dyson had an entrenched drug problem and he had managed to get clean while on bail for some of the earlier offending, but relapsed when his father died earlier this year. He said he was now motivated to stay clean again as he was the primary carer for his children. Magistrate Paul Lyons said he suspected the court had heard from Dyson before that he wanted to change his life. He said his children were there to be his motivation previously, but that had not helped. “I want to give you an opportunity to show the court, yourself, your children and the community you can take the difficult road of rehabilitation under the supervision of Community Corrections,” Mr Lyons said. He sentenced Dyson to 13 months imprisonment suspended for 10 months, with programs and supervision requirements. Mr Lyons also fined him $2100.