A man who was charged with motor vehicle theft after he failed to return a friend's car he borrowed has been sentenced in court. The Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday heard Adam Butler, of Ballarat North, was given the keys to his friend's Ford Falcon to use from May 8 to May 13, 2019, while the friend and his wife were out of town. Butler was to house sit and feed horses at the property over the period. Upon the couple's return home the complainant's wife sent multiple texts to Butler asking him to bring back the car by May 14 - warning it would be reported stolen if not returned. Days later the vehicle was located on Armstrong Street South and towed, with crime scene analysis of the car locating Butler's fingerprint on an outside door. The court heard Butler later could not offer police an explanation why the car was not returned. "I can't remember why, I don't know," he said in an interview. "There was no planned date or specific time - it's a $1500 car." Butler faced further charges relating to an incident while he was on bail for the car theft on July 15, when he was found to be carrying a dead woman's prescription drugs at a police stop in Sebastopol. Butler was stopped on Albert Street about 2.30am and when asked if he had history with police he stated he had a prior history of heroin use and had used ice. Butler was searched and a white plastic bag containing medication prescribed to a deceased woman was located in his backpack. The court heard Butler told police he was riding his pushbike along Albert Street about 15 minutes earlier when he passed some charity bins and curiosity propelled him to take the plastic bag of prescription medication he found among the donations. "I put them in my bag, thinking about looking at them at home ... I was more curious than anything," he told police. "I didn't really think about it, it was just genuine curiosity. There was no devious thing going through my head." IN THE NEWS: Defence for Butler told the court he stood by the explanations he gave police for taking the medication and he described it as "a stupid decision". "He shouldn't have had anything to do with the bins, let alone a bag full of medications," the defence said. In regard to the vehicle theft, defence for Butler told the court he had been evicted from the boarding house he was staying at while he was house sitting for his friends, and he did not tell them out of embarrassment. "He found that he'd been evicted from the boarding house so he put all his things in the car ... he was embarrassed he was homeless," the defence said. "He lost all of his belongings and his friends of 20 years as well." The court heard Butler had battled drug addiction two decades earlier but had overcome it on his own. His defence said he now had stable accommodation nearby to his elderly mother who he took shopping every week. "This offending is at the lower end and he's not a man that is at risk of reoffending," the defence said. Butler pleaded guilty to all charges. Magistrate Letizia Torres said the man's friends would have experienced a sense of betrayal over the car theft. "Although it's different to theft of a motor vehicle that I often see in this court, it's unfortunate you did that to your friends and weren't honest about your situation," she said. "I hope you've learned from that situation." Butler was convicted and ordered to pay a fine of $300. Now just one tap with our new app. Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Courier. See how to download it below:
