A Dubbo man who choked a woman and squirted shampoo in her eyes, a well as breaking into a number of businesses has landed himself behind bars.
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The 35-year-old was sentenced to four years in jail with a non-parole period of two years and nine months in Dubbo Local Court for a series of offences this year.
In March, the man used a screwdriver to chip away at the glass window out the front of Autobarn in Dubbo, about 2.30 am on March 21.
According to police when the hole was large enough, the man crawled through and gathered 22 UHF car radio kits along with eight telephone mobile phone car kits worth $6300.
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The man pushed the items back through the window before loading them into a wheelie bin he obtained from an unknown location.
He squeezed back through the hole, however accidently triggered the store's security alarm. He then fled the scene with the wheelie bin.
Police arrived and DNA left by the man at the scene - blood on the window - linked him to DNA left at a similar incident in Bathurst in February this year.
About 12.30am on February 26, CCTV footage captures the man smashing the front door of the HopeCare bargain centre in Bathurst.
Police said here he rummaged through the store, and was seen to unlock a glass cabinet and remove several watches and a laptop worth about $300. CCTV footage shows the man leave the store with a number of bags including a suitcase on wheels.
He was later captured on CCTV footage, about 2am standing out the front of the Surf Skate n Street store on Howick Street before he put on gloves and places a balaclava over his head and smashed a small hole in the front window.
He then crawled through the hole when CCTV captures him damaging two pairs of sunglasses and steal two pairs of Carve sunglasses valued at $60 each.
Before boarding a bus to Dubbo at 4pm later the next day, the man is spotted exchanging a small lunch box containing about 10 watches stolen from HopeCare in exchange for a small quantity of drugs.
He was arrested and taken to Dubbo Police Station where he made full admissions to both offences. He told police he was drunk at the time of the offending and had little memory of it.
A search warrant was issued for his arrest in April this year. Police attended a home in Dubbo when they picked up the couch and located the man hiding under it attempting to conceal himself.
He was arrested and taken to Dubbo Police Station where he made full admissions to both offences. He told police he was drunk at the time of the offending and had little memory of it.
He admitted to selling the stolen property at the Bathurst train station in exchange for "a bag of ice", and sold the property stolen from Autobarn in Dubbo to someone named "Palo" at Brocklehurst for $600 and half an ounce of cannabis.
The man was also sentenced for a series of assaults this year.
Between 1pm and 4pm on April 25 this year, the man and his partner had been arguing at a home in Dubbo, before a scuffle broke out between the two.
The man repeatedly threatened his partner telling her he would "set the house on fire", and not to call the police because he would "start a siege" if they came to the door.
Using a hammer the man went on a spree, smashing holes in the wall of the home and the wooden architraves around the door ways. The smoke alarm of the ceiling was also ripped off.
The man took the woman's phone stop her from contacting police.
Later that afternoon the woman attended Dubbo Police Station to report the incident.
Police attended and located the man hiding under a blanket in the front seat of a car parked in a shed in the backyard.
In August this year, the man and his partner were again at a home when she confronted him about his use of the drug 'ice'. Denying the allegation, he became aggressive toward the woman pushing her causing her to fall onto boxes stacked behind her.
While she was on the ground, the man grabbed her by her hair which was in a bun and dragged her into the loungeroom. Here, according to police, he placed both his hands around her throat and squeezed with such a force it caused her to lose the ability to breath and lose consciousness.
In court documents, the woman said she was unsure how long it occurred or how long she lost consciousness for, but recalled hearing and feeling her ears pop and an extreme amount of pressure in her eyes and head.
The man grabbed the woman by her hair again, and dragged her into the bathroom pushing her into the shower fully clothed turning on the water. Once inside he then squeezed and entire bottle of shampoo over her head and into her eyes.
What you subjected the victim to would have been horrific, for a continued barrage of offending in August this year ... in some respects she was fortunate to survive
- Magistrate Gary Wilson
When the woman attempted to wash the shampoo out of her eyes he then punched her numerous times to her arm and back causing a number of bruises. Here he also threatened to kill the woman's mother and brother.
The man eventually let the woman leave the shower but followed her to the bedroom continuing to yell abuse at her. She pleaded with him to calm down and help her find some dry clothes, but he refused.
According to police the victim said she remembered laying down on the bed in wet clothes and again lost consciousness. She didn't wake until the next day.
When she woke the man began to question the woman about messages and people on her phone he found while going through it. He showed her the phone which was smashed.
The woman attended Woolworths eight days later and alerted her mother to what had happened. Both attended Dubbo Police Station to report the matter.
Police attended the home and found the man hiding in a cupboard of a bedroom. He was arrested and taken to Dubbo Police Station.
In Dubbo Local Court on Thursday, he pleaded guilty to 19 charges including break and enter, assault and intentionally choking someone.
Defence lawyer Molly Bland said her client had a "serious and long standing" issue with alcohol, but since being in custody had been seeing a drug and alcohol counsellor, which he said had been "helping".
The court heard his sentencing assessment report highlighted he is someone who has a history of employment and is a proactive member of the community, and while in custody he has been working as a prison electrician.
"He has great homes to kick his alcohol addiction, so he can have an active role in his children's lives," she said.
Ms Bland asked the court to consider a finding of special circumstances to allow more time on parole to help with his alcohol addiction and come back to being a proactive member of the community.
Magistrate Gary Wilson said there was no other option than full time imprisonment, particular for the "alarming" and "horrendous" violent behaviour toward the woman.
"You don't have a history of violence-related matters, but you certainly do have one now," he said.
"What you subjected the victim to would have been horrific, for a continued barrage of offending in August this year ... in some respects she was fortunate to survive."
With a finding of special circumstances, and a 20 per cent discount for his relatively early pleas of guilty the man was sentenced to a non-parole period of two years and nine months in jail, backdated to July 10 this year. He will be eligible for release in April 2024.