- Former A-League star Troy Hearfield jailed for second time
- Found guilty of stealing engine from former owner's boat
- Tried to sell boat motor worth $4,000 on Facebook
Fallen A-League star Troy Hearfield has been jailed for a second time after stealing and selling the engine from his former owner's boat off the New South Wales north coast.
Hearfield, 37, was part of the Olyroos' Beijing campaign in 2008 and won a grand final with the Newcastle Jets, but will now serve four months behind bars for theft and disposal of a boat part after selling the engine of his landlord's boat, valued at $4,000.
In November 2023, Hearfield was jailed for a minimum of seven months for burglary, theft, drug possession and three counts of disqualified driving.
The troubled star was also previously convicted of stealing a Makita chainsaw and a drill from Bunnings in Bennetts Green, near Newcastle in New South Wales, as well as 'atomic enhancement pills' worth almost $200 from a Port Macquarie adult store .
Police facts presented to Coffs Harbor District Court in December revealed that Hearfield rented the victim's holiday home in Woolgoolga as a place of residence between June and October last year.
Not long after Hearfield moved into the property, a 90-horsepower Yamaha outboard boat motor appeared for sale for $3,800 on Facebook Marketplace.
Fallen A-League star Troy Hearfield (pictured left) has been jailed for a second time after stealing and selling the engine of his landlord's boat off the New South Wales north coast.
Hearfield (pictured in the middle) will now serve four months behind bars for theft and disposal of a ship part.
“The engine was sold by Troy Hearfield, who posed on the Facebook profile 'Matt Lowe',” police data state.
A second victim made arrangements to collect the boat's engine, but soon made a report to Coffs Harbor police when Hearfield failed to turn up and return his deposit.
Days later, the victim received the boat's engine that was missing several parts or broken.
Hearfield's subsequent promise to ship the missing parts never materialized.
Then, in August last year, Woolgoolga's owner informed Hearfield that he was returning to his property to “give the boat engine a chance”.
'The first victim (owner) observed that the motor cables had been cut when removing the motor, and his Ryobi hand drill, which was supposed to be secured in the garden shed, sitting on the hull of the boat along with several other tools … which are believed to have been used to remove the engine and do not belong to him (Hearfield),' the police facts state.
Hearfield denied the allegations at the time and the owner contacted police.
In November 2023, Hearfield was jailed for a minimum of seven months for burglary, theft, drug possession and three counts of disqualified driving.
Subsequent forensic analysis showed Hearfield's fingerprints in two places on the stern of the boat, and the retired footballer eventually admitted to providing the second victim with the Yamaha boat engine.
The owner must also receive compensation for the damaged boat engine.
Hearfield, who failed a drugs test while on the books of the Central Coast Mariners in 2013, which saw him sacked, pleaded guilty to theft charges.
The Tamworth-born footballer, who also played for A-League side Wellington Phoenix, was sentenced to eight months in prison with four months non-parole following an appeal of the sentence to Coffs Harbor District Court.