A Ballarat mother convicted of stealing more than half a dozen cars during a crime spree across Victoria has had her appeal quashed.
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Kandice Smith, 30, appeared from custody at the County Court in Ballarat on Monday to appeal an earlier 13-month prison sentence she received at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court.
The sentence, handed down by Magistrate Guillame Bailin on January 29, concerned Smith's role in seven car thefts, two burglaries and the possession of drugs and weapons.
Smith and a male co-accused took part in car thefts and burglaries beginning in March 2023, after the pair stole a Ford Ranger from an address in Ararat.
Smith was also seen driving the stolen Ford Ranger in the Maldon and Kangaroo Flat areas.
Crime spree spread over several towns
Throughout March, the couple continued their offending in Maldon, Reservoir, Dunnstown and Melbourne's CBD. The crime spree included seven car thefts, two burglaries and one attempted car theft.
Smith and her male co-accused were nabbed on March 21, 2023, after selling stolen jewellery from a burglary in Dunnstown to a gold seller on Swanston Street.
The pair were two of many arrested as part of a Western Crime Squad operation, Operation Viper, which police said spanned from Cobram in the north to Colac in the south, and from Horsham to Melbourne's inner city suburbs.
At Monday's hearing, the court heard of trauma Smith suffered stemming from childhood and her addiction to methamphetamine and GHB.
On top of her 13-month sentence, Smith was also placed on an 18-month community corrections order to be served after her released.
Smith's lawyer argued the prison time and the community corrections order were too large of a sentence, totalling 31 months engagement with the criminal justice system.
'Dead lucky' not to have gotten a longer jail sentence, says judge
Judge Liz Gaynor however disagreed, and said the sentence was "incredibly lenient".
"Seven car thefts, a burglary where $11,000 worth of materials are taken. She is dead lucky to not have gotten three (years) with a two (non-parole) for this," Judge Gaynor said.
The judge said Smith's offending was "simply too big and too much" to allow an appeal to be lodged.
Smith started crying in the dock as she told Judge Gaynor of her engagement with inmate programs at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, and admitted she was not "ready to leave".
Her appeal was struck out.
