Man leaves crime trail

By Letea Cavander

A MAN who left a trail of crimes throughout Brisbane and the Bundaberg region finally faced the music and was slapped with a hefty bunch of fines at the city's magistrates court yesterday.

The court heard Karl Daveth Teather, 28, racked up 29 traffic and drugs charges, as well as offences of receiving stolen goods in Brisbane and Bundaberg during the past two years.

Police Prosecutor Senior Constable Dean Burgess said the first set of charges dated back to July last year when police intercepted the defendant driving an unregistered, uninsured Holden Commodore while he was unsupervised and on a learner's permit.

And that was only the beginning of the defendant's brushes with the law.

Snr Const Burgess said a search warrant was carried out at the defendant's property in January.

Teather was charged with five offences after the raid, including unlawfully possessing a protected animal.

The prosecutor said officers discovered a carpet python was being kept in a glass enclosure in the home.

"(The defendant) stated he had caught the snake in his back yard and decided to keep it as a pet," Snr Const Burgess said.

Teather was also charged with drug and theft-related offences, and failing to properly dispose of a syringe.

"Children, aged between three and nine, were playing in the room next door (to where the syringe was discovered)," Snr Const Burgess said.

The court heard the defendant also failed on two occasions to front up to Beenleigh Magistrates Court.

Teather was subsequently charged with traffic offences in Gin Gin and Moore Park Beach in August and October this year, which landed him in court facing all the charges yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined $10,500.