Timothy Michael Powell, 42, has been sentenced to five years’ jail by the ACT Supreme Court. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A serial criminal’s attempt to be released from custody to undergo drug rehabilitation has failed, and he was instead handed a jail sentence for two burglaries he committed a decade apart.
In October 2014, then-32-year-old Timothy Michael Powell and a co-offender went into the garage of a rural home in Pialligo where they stole a single-barrel shotgun, ammunition, alcohol and a ute.
The ute was recovered two months later, but the shotgun was never found.
“While the entry occurred at a time when occupants were likely to be, and were at home, fortunately, they were not disturbed by the entry,” the ACT Supreme Court’s Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen SC wrote in her published decision.
“The theft of a firearm, which remains unrecovered, is serious and warrants a stern deterrent sentence.”
Powell first faced court over this burglary in 2015, then served periods of imprisonment in NSW for unrelated offending and did not face the ACT courts for this incident again until April 2024.
Meanwhile, last year, his co-offender in the more recent burglary learned their victim had been selling some of the co-offender’s belongings.
On 2 April 2024, Powell, on parole at the time, and his co-offender went to the victim’s home. The co-offender began banging on the victim’s door and yelling phrases such as “I want my s–t”.
The victim, who was home with her one-year-old child, called Triple Zero while the invaders went around the back where Powell used a small axe to break through the door to get inside.
The co-offender struck out at the victim while she was holding her crying child in her arms, leaving the victim with a split lip and the child with bruises.
The victim locked herself and her child in the bathroom while the co-offender tried to kick her way inside. The home invaders then fled with the victim’s wallet and $150 cash.
Acting Justice Christensen said that what was of most concern was the significant distress that would likely have been caused to the victim.
“She was attacked in her own home, with a verbal and physical altercation that involved her young son,” she said.
“They were both physically harmed during the offending.”
She said while Powell’s role was not as serious as his co-offender’s as he was not directly responsible for the verbal and physical abuse, his presence increased the level of intimidation and the inherent threat.
Powell, a now-42-year-old from Queanbeyan, pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and burglary by joint commission.
Earlier this year, the court heard he wanted to be sentenced to a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order (DATO), a community-based order focusing on drug rehabilitation.
Acting Justice Christensen said he started using drugs when young, had a challenging childhood, a sporadic employment history and an extensive criminal history.
He has been in custody since April 2024, but served a sentence for unrelated offending in that time.
A DATO can only be imposed if an offender is given a sentence of less than four years and the acting justice said his sentence would exceed this limit, which meant he was ineligible for the order.
Powell was convicted and sentenced to a total of five years’ jail with a three-year non-parole period. As this was backdated to account for time served, he will be eligible to be released from April 2027.
The co-offender from the 2014 burglary incident was sentenced to 31 months’ jail for his role and has since died. The co-offender in the 2024 home invasion is yet to be sentenced.
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