Robbers raid home for heroin, but steal CD players and coffee machine instead

Robbers who turned up at a man’s house demanding heroin were unable to find any drugs and instead stole items like CD players, a coffee machine and a baby formula tin filled with keys.

Brett John Scott, 40, was sentenced over his role in the robbery by the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday (26 November), but he did not have to return to custody as he was handed a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order (DATO) to serve in the community.

At around 5 pm on 19 November 2023, the victim heard a knock on the door of his home in Canberra and opened it to discover Scott outside.

“Where is the heroin?” Scott said.

The group of intruders pushed their way inside and one attacked the victim before they began demanding he tell them where the heroin was stashed, saying that a person by the name of ‘Mouse’ had told them it was at the home.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the victim said.

He was forced into a bedroom and told to wait there and not call police. Scott then stood over him and said, “No cops. If the cops get involved, then we’re gonna send some big black guys around”.

The intruders ransacked the home while still demanding heroin. Some of them, but not Scott, also assaulted the victim a number of times, leaving him with scratches and bruises.

When the intruders left, they stole items like CD players, a pod coffee machine, ginger beers, as well as mail and paperwork in the names of the victim and his housemates. Scott himself stole a baby formula tin that contained various keys.

Police arrived later that evening, saw security camera footage of the robbery and immediately recognised Scott and the others.

Scott was arrested later that same month, then was refused bail and spent more than eight months behind bars on remand before he was released in August 2024.

“The offending involved an invasion of the victim’s home, a place where the victim was entitled to feel safe,” Justice Belinda Baker said.

“The victim was significantly outnumbered by the offenders.

“Actual force was used against the victim, who sustained injuries.”

Scott, who blamed heavy alcohol use for his role, pleaded guilty to a charge of joint commission aggravated robbery and asked to be sentenced to a DATO.

Justice Baker said the landscaper had a long history of alcohol and drug use. He had drunk up to 16 drinks daily from 2020 and used meth for the first time in 2003.

He also has a long history of committing crimes across the ACT and NSW, including assault and theft. This robbery was committed just eight months after he had been released on parole for a different robbery offence.

However, he had participated in numerous drug and alcohol programs in his most recent period of incarceration, while he also gave evidence to the court and wrote a letter to his victim explaining his remorse and shame.

Justice Baker said Scott was committed to drug and alcohol rehabilitation for the first time in his life, and she said addressing his use of substances was the best way of ensuring the community’s protection.

She sentenced him to two years and three months jail, with the remaining custodial part suspended for him to complete a 20-month DATO.

As part of the order, he must reside under a curfew and not use alcohol or drugs.

“The opportunity you’ve been given is an exceptional one … in view of the offending you’ve committed,” Justice Baker told him.