From women's underwear to a deck of Pokemon cards, a self-described "Aussie rap artist" has copped a hefty fine after he was busted with a haul of stolen items.
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Windang man Joel Terrence Charnock-Budd attracted the attention of police who were conducting high visibility patrols in Crown Street mall in Wollongong earlier this year, after they noticed a new 'size' sticker running down the back of his shirt.
Officers approached the 27-year-old rapper and builder after he exited the toilets and took a seat outside Coles Supermarkets.
Police introduced themselves and asked to see proof of purchase of the shirt, to which Charnock-Budd offered his receipt from Rebel Sport and opened a bag he was carrying from the same store.
Inside, officers found a new deck of Pokemon cards with an alarmed security tag still fixed to the pack.
Charnock-Budd told police "oh, the staff couldn't get it off, so they just left it on there".
But officers were unmoved and continued the search for suspected stolen items, according to tendered court documents.
They uncovered a pink Lonsdale sports set, also with an attached security tag.
Charnock-Budd was arrested and the search continued, with two pairs of shorts, two pairs of women's briefs, a women's crop top, a t-shirt and a girl's crop top seized.
He was subsequently banned from shops within Crown Street mall for 12 months.
In Wollongong Local Court on Monday, Charnock-Budd pleaded guilty to one count of having suspected stolen goods in custody.
Magistrate Claire Girotto asked Charnock-Budd why he was walking around with the stolen haul, which totalled $110 in value, when he could have easily afforded it on his wage as a builder.
However he made clear that he wasn't the one who stole the items, adding the women's undies were for his girlfriend.
The court heard Charnock-Budd is serving an intensive correction order until December next year after he was sentenced in 2021 for having two illegal pistols in his bedroom.
Magistrate Girotto warned Charnock-Budd that if he commits any further crimes, his community-based prison sentence may be revoked.
He was fined $700.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
