Donald Rowan Collard: Alleged car thief who drove to Geraldton from Perth denied bail to attend funeral

A man accused of stealing a car in Joondanna and driving all the way to Geraldton to attend a funeral has been denied bail due to his “shocking record”. Donald Rowan Collard appeared from custody in Geraldton Magistrates Court on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and one count of no authority to drive. The 30-year-old man entered not guilty pleas to stealing, home burglary in circumstance of aggravation and stolen motor vehicle charges. Police prosecutor Senior Constable Paul White alleged around 9.15pm on January 5 Mr Collard broke into a house in Joondanna and stole a purse, a set of car keys and a vehicle from the garage. Mr Collard is accused of using the stolen credit card two hours later to buy drinks, a phone charger and SIM card to the value of $40 at Shell Coles Express Upper Swan. His alleged joy ride came to an end at Cape Burney after he was stopped by Geraldton police around 4am in the stolen car. In making an application for bail, defence lawyer Kate Summers said Mr Collard was in Geraldton to attend a family member’s funeral at 12.30pm that day. The court was told Mr Collard had “borrowed” the car after he was prevented from boarding a bus to Geraldton that had been arranged for the funeral. Magistrate Col Roberts decided not to grant bail, saying there were no conditions the court could impose to prevent reoffending given Mr Collard’s record, the considerable flight risk and previous breaches of bail. “Your record is shocking for burglaries and stealing,” Mr Roberts said. Mr Collard will re-appear in Geraldton Magistrates Court on February 9.