‘Parcel thieves’ face court over alleged theft of packages worth tens of thousands of dollars

A former bank manager accused of stealing packages from neighbors at the entrance of a Sydney CBD apartment complex has been released on bail.

Sascha Pearsall, 37, and her girlfriend Nikita Bastion, 36, were arrested Tuesday after police allegedly found bicycles, ammunition, food, clothing, prescription drugs and collectibles belonging to other residents in units in Saunders. St, Pyrmont.

The couple, who live in adjoining apartment buildings and had recently started dating, allegedly went on a burglary between 10:30 p.m. on December 23 and the early hours of Christmas Eve.

They are accused of removing packages addressed to other residents from the lobby of the units, including more than $20,000 worth of Star Wars memorabilia and $167.13 valued precooked meals, before hiding them in one of their units.

Police investigating the disappearance of two bicycles reported missing from the unit’s complex parking lot allegedly discovered the loot.

The couple were handed a series of charges including robbery, drug supply and illegal possession and were taken into custody overnight to face separate hearings at Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday.

Appearing via video link, Pearsall, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, sat quietly in the dock as his lawyer told Judge Paul Lyon that he intended to plead not guilty to eight of the nine charges in his case. against, the only guilty plea being one count of stealing food worth less than $2,000.

His lawyer filed a bail application arguing that his client was willing to report to the police, live with his mother and abide by the curfew.

“His mother has lived in that housing commission for 25 years and he has lived there on and off during that time,” Pearsall’s lawyer said.

Your Honor, there are drug and alcohol charges listed, but my client says he doesn’t have a drinking problem.

“You can put a 24-hour curfew since you are unemployed at the moment.”

The prosecutor objected to bail, telling the court that the matter had been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions and that the defendant could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of drug supply.

While Judge Lyon agreed that the charges were serious, he noted that the DDP case would likely take months to compile and granted Pearsall bail.

Under the bail conditions, Pearsall must stay at his mother’s house and not go out between 8pm and 8am unless he is in her mother’s company, and must report to the Newtown police station three times a week. .

You cannot drink alcohol or drugs, you must report to the police frequently for sobriety checks, you cannot go within a kilometer of Pyrmont and you cannot leave Australia.

Meanwhile, in an adjacent courtroom, Bastion pleaded guilty to supplying a prohibited drug but not guilty to seven other counts.

He applied for bail, which was formally denied. She will remain in custody to appear in Downing Center Local Court later this month.

Police launched an investigation after two electric bikes were allegedly stolen from the unit complex’s parking lot on Christmas Eve.

A search warrant was executed Tuesday.

Among the other items allegedly found were prescription drugs, credit cards, collectible toys, action figures, shoes and replica firearms.

According to court documents, police will allege the couple went on a nightly rampage, stealing bicycles, a birth certificate and another man’s bank card.

Pearsall also allegedly picked up a box containing $23,000 worth of My Muscle Chef food and Star Wars memorabilia.

During the same period, the couple allegedly also supplied 350 ml of butanediol, a common “date rape” drug, also known as GHB.

When police searched the home Tuesday, they also allegedly found the couple with the identifications of a third man and prochlorperazine maleate, a prescription nausea medication.

The items were seized for forensic examination.

Court documents show the couple, who announced their relationship on Facebook in late October, live in neighboring apartment towers within the same building complex as the alleged Pyrmont burglaries.

Photos posted online the night before their arrest showing them dining at a Chinese restaurant in Haymarket.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Pearsall worked at Commonwealth Bank for 11 years in a variety of roles, including the role of Operations Integrity Manager from May 2018 to March 2022.

He left the banking giant in June last year to become the head of platform engineering and operations integrity at Cash Rewards.

His tenure with the rewards program company lasted just four months, and the former IT head’s current LinkedIn profile read: ‘Taking a well-deserved career break!’

Pearsall has pleaded not guilty to supplying a prohibited drug, possessing ammunition without a license, theft of property less than $15,000, three counts of possession of allegedly stolen property, theft of property between $2,000 and $5,000, and possession of drugs. Illegally obtained prescriptions.

Bastion will fight charges of Theft of Property Between $2,000 and $5,000, Possession of Unlicensed Ammunition, Supply of a Prohibited Drug, Theft of Property Over $15,000, Possession of Illegally Obtained Prescription Drugs, and Two Counts of Possession of goods suspected of theft.

Bastion is due to appear in Downing Center Local Court on January 10, while Pearsall’s case will be heard in the same court on March 2.