A local greyhound trainer and breeder has been convicted and awaits sentencing after he failed to appear in court last week to face charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
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A warrant was issued by the court for Chris Edwards, 41 of Musgrave Street, Young who was convicted in his absence by Magistrate Michael O’Brien.
According to the police facts submitted to the court Edwards, who has been a part of the racing industry for the past 25-years, has deceived a woman that purchased a greyhound pup from him and that he was to train for her.
The facts state in 2014 the victim purchased a male greyhound from Edwards and an associate for $2000 with the agreement that Edwards would train and race the dog for the victim.
The victim picked a male dog that was white with very distinct black markings from photos and named the animal Heath. There was only one other male in the litter that was white with less distinct markings.
Once the victim’s dog was with Edwards in Young he and the victim would communicate by text message and Facebook about how the dog was going.
The victim was sent a number of photos showing her the dog. The victim kept all the pictures and messages. Over a period of a few months Edwards and the victim continued to communicate about the dog’s progression. He sent the victim a photo of her dog winning a trial, the photo showed the very distinct markings of the dog.
At some point Edwards stopped all communication with the victim before they began to see a dog named ‘Beegumbah Rumba’ trained and raced by Edwards racing at different tracks within Australia with identical markings to her dog. This dog went on to win around $35,340 in prize money. The victim became upset and concerned and reported it to police for investigation.
Edwards voluntarily agreed to an interview with police who found his answers to be unacceptable and inconsistent as was his blaming of the microchipping process and his claim that he had re-homed the victim’s dog. Police said they could not overlook the fact that Edwards had deceived the victim over a long period of time.
Police submitted that the dog had tested positive to a prohibited substance in 2017 and Edwards said the dog had since broken down. Police also said he has been charged with a number of frauds in the past.
