Former Broome Toyota employee pleads guilty to stealing more than $20,000 in vehicle parts

An employee of Broome Toyota has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $20,000 in vehicle parts and sending them to the NT, in order to “drum up business.” Timothy James Whitcombe appeared in Broome Magistrates Court on Monday August 2, charged with two counts of stealing as a servant and was sentenced to seven months suspended imprisonment, as well as ordered to pay back the total costs of his dealings. While working as a parts interpreter for Broome Toyota in September 2020, Whitcombe stole $21,753 and $2,915 worth of vehicle parts from the company, which he shipped to an address in the Northern Territory in exchange for bank transfers. The court heard Whitcombe received more than $22,000 to his personal account during this time and was trying to “drum up business,” with the intention of eventually paying it back to his employer. Whitcombe’s dealings were discovered through invoices, which he described as “inevitable” and it was heard alcohol played a large part in his misjudgement. “There was a lot of alcohol involved in the decision making at the time,” he said. Magistrate Stephen Sharratt also acknowledged Whitcombe’s statement his initial motivation to commit the offences was to help a friend. “I tried to help someone out but then had to keep up with it,” he said. Whitcombe resides in Wiluna and is required to remain out of trouble for nine months to avoid his seven month suspended imprisonment sentence.