Bunbury man with history of stealing handed hefty fine after taking motorcycle from stranger’s garage

A Bunbury man with a history of stealing vehicles has been handed a hefty fine as a “deterrent” for stealing a motorcycle from a garage. Marco Pietro Poletti pleaded guilty in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Monday morning to one count of stealing a motor vehicle. The prosecution told the court that on April 2, Poletti was walking through Eaton when he spotted a blue and white 2013 Yamaha TT-R125E motorcycle hung up in someone’s carport. Poletti walked into the unoccupied carport, fetched a pair of bolt cutters, cut the motorcycle down from the chains while holding it and rode it for a short distance out of the driveway before walking it the rest of his way home. Multiple people witnessed Poletti taking the bike and it was recorded on CCTV. The bike had not been located or returned to the owner. Poletti’s counsel explained he was having a “hard time financially” and was feeling “angry” because the day before he had been stuck in Centrelink all day. He has since put himself through counselling, admitting that he “feels like a complete idiot”. Magistrate Joanne Andretich decided on a bigger fine for Poletti to act as a “deterrent” because he had a criminal record of stealing motor vehicles from seven years ago. Poletti was fined $1500 plus court costs of $141.