Carnarvon woman who left COVID isolation to use service station phone spared jail

A woman has pleaded guilty to going to a Carnarvon service station while infected with COVID just weeks after WA’s hard border lifted earlier this year. Geraldton Magistrates Court was told Zeta Dodd was supposed to be in isolation on March 19 after testing positive to COVID, but police later located her just outside of the Carnarvon CBD. The 18-year-old was also spotted at a local service station before she was returned to isolation. Just one week prior she and another co-accused smashed a window and broke a hole in the wall to gain entry into Jaycar Electronics, where they attempted to steal 12 mobile phones and a roll of coins. Police found the pair hiding behind a desk inside the building and all property was recovered. She got into more trouble when she failed to turn up to court in Carnarvon after being charged, with defence counsel Xavier Sellathambu saying this was because she had been in Geraldton getting legal advice on an unrelated matter. Appearing in court from custody on Monday, Dodd pleaded guilty to burglary, stealing, breaching bail and failing to comply with a direction under the Emergency Management Act. The court was told Dodd had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the burglary, which she had gone along with out of “boredom”. Mr Sellathambu said Dodd had left COVID isolation because she wanted to use the phone at the service station. Magistrate Angus Hockton told Dodd her behaviour while infected with COVID was “really irresponsible” and “put people in the community at risk”. “You had a disease that has killed people in this State. It is a highly contagious disease,” he said. Mr Hockton considered sentencing Dodd to time behind bars for the breach of COVID rules, but decided against this due to her youth, limited criminal record and admission of guilt. She was placed on a 12-month intensive supervision order and fined $600 for breaching bail.