Taranaki farm prowler attempts to steal quad bike but crashes into fence

Brad Zimmerman broke into a farm shed and tried to steal a quad bike. Photo / Stock Image 123rf

A burglar's attempt to steal a quad bike from a farm was botched by his bad driving which saw him crash into a fence post and make off with only the bike's key.

It was around 4am when Brad Alexander Zimmerman, 31, snuck onto a dairy farm in Stratford, Taranaki, and began prowling about the property.

He spied a quad bike in a shed at the address and jumped on and started it up, New Plymouth District Court was told on Thursday.

But as Zimmerman attempted to drive it out, the wheel of the trailer became stuck on the shed door.

The trailer detached from the bike and Zimmerman floored the four-wheeler towards the farm's tanker track with the intention of stealing it, the police summary of facts said of the June 21 offending.

Zimmerman didn't make it far, though. He crashed into a fencepost and then legged it from the farm, leaving behind the bike but taking its key.

Around six hours later, police tracked him to a New Plymouth address where he was arrested and found to have 0.7 grams of methamphetamine in his jacket pocket.

"It's not a lot of meth," he told police officers.

There was already a warrant to arrest Zimmerman in place before he was apprehended that day.

A separate police summary of facts detailed that on June 6 Zimmerman broke into someone's shed and stole two bags of meat from a freezer.

He had also been caught a number of times putting petrol into his car and then driving off without paying.

In court, he pleaded guilty to four charges of theft, one of burglary and one of breaching bail.

Zimmerman, who appeared via audiovisual link from Manawatū Prison, was remanded back into custody.

Judge Gregory Hikaka convicted him on the charges and referred the matters to restorative justice.

Zimmerman will be sentenced on October 24.