Trevor Thomas Elemes pleaded guilty to a single charge of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception in Dubbo Local Court on Thursday.

According to court documents, the 46-year-old used a lost credit card to purchase a 30 packet of JPS cigarettes for $54.50 at the Ampol Service Station on the corner of Brisbane and Cobra Streets about 3am on March 5 this year.

According to police the owner of the credit card had been at the Pastoral Hotel before he headed home at about 1.30am on March 5.

While walking home, police said the man was allegedly assaulted before being robbed of his phone, credit cards and licence.

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The man - who was suffering from a split bottom lip which bled onto his shirt, pain to his ribs and torso, and grazes to his inner bicep, elbow and hip - arrived home shortly after, before he locked his phone via his computer and went to bed.

After waking at 8am he fainted and was taken to Dubbo Hospital in an ambulance. Police believe this is due to the injuries sustained during the robbery. He was discharged later that day with bruised ribs.

Bank statements revealed his cards had been used twice at the Ampol Service Station, one made by a woman at 3.01am for $62.99 and another made by a man at 3.07am for $54.50.

CCTV footage showed Elmes and a co-accused make the purchases. Elemes also attempted a third time to purchase two Oreo sandwich ice-creams for $8, but was declined before leaving.

The victim logged in to his computer to find his phone which located it in the vicinity of Gipps Street, Tamworth Street and Lovett Avenue.

Detectives from the regional enforcement squad issued a search warrant at his home on March 15 where he was placed under arrest.

Elemes told officers there were keys and cards in the bedroom wardrobe that he had picked up near the phone box on Tamworth Street while out collecting 'bumpers' one night.

Police located and seized the items, and clothes Elemes was seen wearing in CCTV.

At Dubbo Police Station, Elemes admitted to using the card to buy cigarettes before he disposed of it down the drain.

"I knew it was wrong using the card but I did it," he told police.

In court defence lawyer Arthur Nguyen argued the purchasing of the cigarettes was at the lower end of seriousness.

He said while his client had a record, his last dishonesty offence was in 2015, which resulted in a fine and good behaviour bond.

"There has been a gap in his offending for about two years and seven months according to my reading of his record," Mr Nguyen said.

"Due to COVID-19 he tells me he's been struggling."

Magistrate Gary Wilson convicted and sentenced Elemes to a 12-month community corrections order.