Brook McConnell convicted of stealing duck trap, gazebo, camera

Brook McConnell, 29, of Shiralee Road, was charged with two counts of larceny and possessing cannabis, found when he was arrested.

According to police McConnell and a co-accused, who is yet to face court, had gone fishing in an Orange Agricultural Institute dam in a back paddock of the Forrest Road property on March 2.

Having left the site earlier in the day, at 8pm the pair returned to the site, run by the Department of Primary Industries, and stole the pop-up gazebo from the edge of the dam.

The gazebo had been set up at the site of an experiment being conducted on wild ducks, which were being trapped inside a large custom-made trap.

The research was being filmed by a nearby trail camera, which also captured footage of the theft.

About 8pm the following evening the two men then returned to the dam and stole the duck trap, which had an estimated value of $3000 for replacement materials and manufacture, and they stole the trail camera, which had been fitted to a timber fence post.

Magistrate David Day said the men interrupted important research and told the court it was important to know about wild ducks and their migration.

"Primary Industries people need to know about fauna that fly and ducks are a carrier of avian flu," Mr Day said.

Solicitor Clive Hill said the two men were told they could fish in the dam, they had 12 or more beers and his client had lost his job over the offence but had a new job offer outside of Orange.

"Drinking continued all weekend and they came back and stole the duck trap," Mr Hill said.

"[It was] made of poly pipe, I'm not sure what you would get on the open market."

On March 5, police conducted a search warrant at the co-accused's address and then went to McConnell's home where they arrested him and found 37.3 grams of cannabis in a Tupperware container inside a kitchen cabinet.

The camera was seized on McConnell's property and the gazebo and duck trap were recovered in bushland on Pinnacle Road where McConnell told police the items had been dumped.

McConnell was given a 12-month community correction order for stealing the $199 pop-up gazebo from the DPI. He was also given a 15-month community correction order for stealing the custom-made duck trap and trail camera worth about $3600.

The orders included requirements for rehabilitation and treatment, and he must abstain from drugs. For possession of the cannabis he was fined $220.