A man has hoodwinked Wollongong Coles out of hundreds of dollars worth of groceries by wrapping the barcodes of cheap chocolates around his finger and zapping them through self-serve checkouts in place of much pricier items. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading Adrian Carlos Rondan mostly used the barcodes of a Caramello koala and its humble chocolate stablemate, the Chomp, to carry out the deciept.
His methods were laid bare in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, August 20, as a magistrate openly searched for reasons not to send the 54-year-old to jail. The court heard Rondan, of Bellambi, had been charged 19 times in the past for drug, property and traffic offences. Most recently he piqued the interest of Wollongong Police District's proactive crime team with his near-daily visits to Wollongong Central.
CCTV cameras were rolling as he passed through Coles' self-serve checkouts five times between April 7 and April 12. On his first visit he walked away with six items worth $32.70 - Bulla Cream Classics neapolitan ice cream cones, Golden Gaytime sticks and several bottles of coconut water.
Once at the self-serve, he placed his right hand over the barcodes of the items and instead scanned a separate barcode that was wrapped around his finger. The resulting receipt showed he'd bought six packets of gum worth $12. He returned the next afternoon, this time picking up a $40 insect surface spray, cockroach baits, more ice cream, more coconut water, $41 worth of scotch fillet steak and some mussels.
The bill should have come to $123.40, but with the barcode of a Caramello koala on hand this time, Rondan parted with just $8. Over the following days, he made purchases worth $60.
50 and $113.20, but paid only $5.60 and $10.
24, respectively. On his priciest visit, the night of April 12, he loaded up on $143.10 worth of goods including bread, $20 worth of Golden Gaytime ice creams, a $60 hair clipper, chicken drumsticks, more ice cream, coconut water and an $18 porterhouse steak, laying down just $11.
20 after zapping a Caramello barcode once and the barcode of a Chomp 13 times. Police came knocking at his home on May 21. Once questioned, Rondan admitted he had used Blu Tack to stick the dodgy barcodes to his finger in order to make his groceries cheaper.
He was charged with five counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception. In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Mark Douglass noted Rondan's offending was premeditated, and had occurred after courts had placed him on multiple bonds, including one that hadn't expired the time of his latest offending. "It's a difficult sentencing matter .
.. they [bonds] don't seem to be deterring him," the magistrate said.
Rondan's lawyer told the court that his client was on a disability support pension and was also a full-time carer to his elderly mother. Rondan claimed to have been hit with multiple medical and veterinary bills and told his lawyer he was unable to afford food and was too embarrassed to seek out charity. But police prosecutor Sergeant David Weaver noted the abundance of ice cream in Rondan's shopping basket.
"While there may be some items that might be considered necessities, there are quite a few ...
luxuries," he said. "This isn't a case of stealing because he was hungry, this is a case of stealing because he wanted it. "I don't believe that Mr Rondan is going to change.
I believe a full-time custodial sentence is the only option here." The magistrate imposed a nine month prison sentence, to be serviced by way of an intensive corrections order. Rondan was warned he would be sent to prison for future dishonesty matters.
"I'm not sure whether you'd do well in prison sir," Magistrate Douglass said. "Prison is a very violent, aggressive, competitive place ..
. you'd be going in there as someone who's older and probably not as physically capable as many." "Yes sir," Rondan replied.
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day.
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au Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day.
[email protected].
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