news, crime, Facebook Marketplace, Club Lime, Dean Welsh
A 24-year-old student repeatedly ripped off Facebook Marketplace users despite telling one woman it was against his morals to do so, police allege. Dean Ivan Welsh fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday and was charged with six new offences, including dishonestly obtaining a BMW, car keys and an iPhone. His legal aid lawyer, Chris Brown, said Mr Welsh denied the allegations against him. The lawyer said the court was dealing with a prosecution case that wasn’t “particularly strong”, but Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter disagreed. The magistrate pointed to police documents, which alleged Mr Welsh sent a woman a screenshot of a purported bank transfer and claimed to have paid her $1100 for an iPhone. When the pair met and the woman said she hadn’t received the money, the documents said Mr Welsh told her: “It goes against my morals to rip someone off, you can trust me.” The documents alleged that, on another occasion, Mr Welsh drove off with a man’s black 2013 BMW after the 24-year-old claimed to have paid him $12,000 for the vehicle. Despite the car owner having been shown what appeared to be a receipt, the documents said he never got the money, and neither did another man who thought he’d sold Mr Welsh $1100 worth of car tyres. Prosecutor Isabella Coker on Friday said Mr Welsh’s offending amounted to a “pattern of behaviour”, and he’d also stolen keys and helped steal a car after he managed to get into Club Lime at Conder after hours. Ms Coker said Mr Welsh clearly had a drug problem and was already before the courts for three sets of driving offences. A bail consideration form penned by police said Mr Welsh had been linked to “a number of stolen motor vehicles”, and officers had spotted him driving erratically. “Police hold concerns for [Mr Welsh’s] safety as he has demonstrated he will do anything, including drive on the incorrect side of the road, to evade apprehension,” the bail consideration form said. The magistrate told Mr Welsh she was on a “knife’s edge” deciding whether to grant him bail or not. She ultimately decided she would with strict conditions, but warned Mr Welsh to not “even think about asking for bail next time” if he breached the conditions. “This is your last chance,” Ms Hunter said. The magistrate said as part of Mr Welsh’s bail conditions, he would have to report to police three times a week, live in a specific house at Narrabundah, be sure to not drive or be in the driver’s seat of any motor vehicles, and give $1000 security to the courts. Mr Welsh did not enter pleas to the fresh charges on Friday. He will next appear in court on February 2.
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A 24-year-old student repeatedly ripped off Facebook Marketplace users despite telling one woman it was against his morals to do so, police allege.
Dean Ivan Welsh fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday and was charged with six new offences, including dishonestly obtaining a BMW, car keys and an iPhone.
His legal aid lawyer, Chris Brown, said Mr Welsh denied the allegations against him.
The lawyer said the court was dealing with a prosecution case that wasn’t “particularly strong”, but Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter disagreed.
The magistrate pointed to police documents, which alleged Mr Welsh sent a woman a screenshot of a purported bank transfer and claimed to have paid her $1100 for an iPhone.
When the pair met and the woman said she hadn’t received the money, the documents said Mr Welsh told her: “It goes against my morals to rip someone off, you can trust me.”
The documents alleged that, on another occasion, Mr Welsh drove off with a man’s black 2013 BMW after the 24-year-old claimed to have paid him $12,000 for the vehicle.
Despite the car owner having been shown what appeared to be a receipt, the documents said he never got the money, and neither did another man who thought he’d sold Mr Welsh $1100 worth of car tyres.
Prosecutor Isabella Coker on Friday said Mr Welsh’s offending amounted to a “pattern of behaviour”, and he’d also stolen keys and helped steal a car after he managed to get into Club Lime at Conder after hours.
Ms Coker said Mr Welsh clearly had a drug problem and was already before the courts for three sets of driving offences.
A bail consideration form penned by police said Mr Welsh had been linked to “a number of stolen motor vehicles”, and officers had spotted him driving erratically.
“Police hold concerns for [Mr Welsh’s] safety as he has demonstrated he will do anything, including drive on the incorrect side of the road, to evade apprehension,” the bail consideration form said.
The magistrate told Mr Welsh she was on a “knife’s edge” deciding whether to grant him bail or not.
She ultimately decided she would with strict conditions, but warned Mr Welsh to not “even think about asking for bail next time” if he breached the conditions.
“This is your last chance,” Ms Hunter said.
The magistrate said as part of Mr Welsh’s bail conditions, he would have to report to police three times a week, live in a specific house at Narrabundah, be sure to not drive or be in the driver’s seat of any motor vehicles, and give $1000 security to the courts.
Mr Welsh did not enter pleas to the fresh charges on Friday.
He will next appear in court on February 2.
Dean Welsh. Picture: Facebook
