Bevan Arthur Morrison: Jail for man who caused almost $150,000 in damage to Esperance businesses

A man has been jailed for breaking into an Esperance shopping centre and smashing about 100 bottles of alcohol, as well as damaging property to the tune of almost $150,000. Bevan Arthur Morrison was jailed for two years and six months on Tuesday November 26 for the spate of offending on September 3, 2023, when he broke into Esperance Boulevard Shopping Centre and caused damage to two businesses. The 24-year-old was sentenced in Esperance District Court for two counts of burglary and three of criminal damage. Just before 6am, Morrison — aged 22 at the time — broke into the shopping centre using force, causing door panels to break or become dislodged. Once inside, he grabbed a fire extinguisher from a storeroom and struck a children’s ride, as well as four windows of Prouds The Jewellers, but was unable to gain entry. He then used the extinguisher to smash front windows of the BWS store and, once inside, smashed about 100 bottles of alcohol, along with other things in the store. The cost of the damage was $73,119 to BWS, $26,657 to Prouds, and $44,716 to the shopping centre, and the court was told none of it would be covered by insurance. Judge Nicholas Egan said the offending was aggravated by the fact it was persistent, but said it was “not sophisticated in any way”. “Furthermore, you were not really successful in stealing anything, although . . . you have been charged with the stealing of the fire extinguisher and the stealing of the Jim Beam and Cola and a packet of cigarettes that you were found with in BWS,” he said. The court was told Morrison had an argument with his girlfriend before the incident, and proceeded to drink so heavily that he blacked out and did not remember the offending. The author of a pre-sentence report said Morrison generally maintained control over his alcohol intake, but on this occasion he drank too much in a short space of time. “The author says that you accept responsibility for your actions and that you feel embarrassment, shame, and disappointment in yourself for what you have done,” Judge Egan said. Judge Egan said there were five mitigating factors he took into consideration when determining an appropriate sentence for Morrison, including his guilty pleas, youth, and remorse. Morrison’s upbringing, which Judge Egan said included a general lack of supervision and support, particularly educational support, as well as exposure to a culture of alcohol and violence, was also a mitigating factor. Aside from a conviction for driving without a licence in 2020, he said Morrison was a man of prior good character, and afforded him a 20 per cent discount on his sentence for his guilty pleas. Morrison was not ordered to pay the compensation of $500 to each of the affected businesses that the State was seeking, with Judge Egan saying he had no money to pay it. His sentence was backdated to October 9, and he will be eligible for parole in January 2026.