A thief who stole goods to the value of more than $1500 from retail stores and broke into a residence at Dubbo has received suspended jail terms after spending one month behind bars.
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Liam Francis Speer, 31, stole two tablet computers from Harvey Norman, and also forced his way into a Macquarie Street unit when no one was home - but a fingerprint and camera footage were his undoing.
He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity to three shoplifting charges and one charge of breaking, entering and stealing.
In Dubbo Local Court magistrate Jacqueline Trad sentenced Speer to serve a 12-month suspended jail term for the break and enter as well as four-month suspended sentences for each of the three shoplifting charges.
Speer climbed over the wall on to the balcony of the unit in January and then pushed a bedroom window out of its frame, court documents show.
In doing so he left a fingerprint on the glass panel of the window, which was later identified by experts as belonging to him.
On January 31, he went to Harvey Norman, took a Samsung brand tablet worth $548, stuffing it up his shirt and tucking it into his pants, court documents show.
He left and sold the tablet to an unknown person for $150.
He returned to the store the same day and took another Samsung tablet, worth $898, court documents show.
Again he left the store without paying and sold the item for $200.
The next day staff noticed the missing devices and checked their closed circuit television footage and located the incident involving the accused.
They then noticed Speer was in the store and again in the tablet area and called police.
Another shoplifting charge related to grocery store Aldi.
The defence submitted the three separate offences occurred when Speer's life was spiralling out of control due to drugs.
The four weeks he had served in custody had shown him he could live without drugs, the court heard.
"I'm instructed he says it was the wake-up call he needed," the solicitor said.
Speer appeared before the court via audiovisual link from prison and Ms Trad said there was a real issue of specific deterrence.
Speer was sentenced to 12 months in jail suspended on the condition he enter into a bond with a condition he be supervised by NSW Community Corrections.
The magistrate said the sentence was on the basis he had already spent one month in custody since his arrest.
"You know what's in store for you if you breach this," Ms Trad said.
Compensation of $1446 to Harvey Norman and $162 to Aldi was ordered by the court.
