A former Xanax user has been convicted after stealing products from three different stores in Dubbo.
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Neil Williams, 51, from West Dubbo represented himself in court on March 16, and pleaded guilty to shoplifting as well as two counts of larceny.
He told the court he had worked for the government for 15 years and only began using drugs after the loss of of his brother.
"You're obviously an intelligent man," magistrate Gary Wilson told Williams.
"Xanax was a problem. It's a problem I'll never ever touch," he said.
Court documents state Williams stole perfumes collectively worth $522 from Chemist Warehouse at about 6.10 pm on September 3 last year.
CCTV footage revealed he took one sealed Burberry London perfume and five other unsealed tester bottles. He then left the store without paying for them. Staff called police a short time later.
Police ran checks on Williams and found photos of him from a previous charge matched the store's CCTV images. Officers went to his home on September 8, 2022, about 3.15pm when he admitted to stealing the products. He told police he had distributed the perfumes among his family members.
Three days later, Williams was again captured on CCTV when he stole a skin serum costing $42 from Priceline on Macquarie Street. He also took a second unknown item and put it in his back pocket. About 11.30am, a staff member confronted him and he put the second item back on the shelf.
However, Williams left the store without paying for the serum. Police went to his house on September 13 where he told them the stealing was "impulsive".
Williams committed a similar offence on November 3 last year at the Intersport store on Talbragar Street.
On March 16, the court heard Williams was under an intensive correction order for previous offending.
Mr Wilson told Williams the shoplifting "has to stop."
"Currently you are... [serving] a term of imprisonment in the community. You were given the benefit of [avoiding a custodial sentence]. If you keep this up, that's what going to happen," Mr Wilson said.
Williams told the court Xanax made him "blank out a lot" and the last time he had used the drug was in September 2022. During that time, he said he was having distressing thoughts and ended up in hospital.
He told the magistrate he was receiving Centrelink payments but planned to get a job soon, once he had his licence.
"There's opportunities, I just need to find a way in... I pay for stuff," Williams said
"Everything is feeling a lot better, I'm looking forward to the future."
Mr Wilson said Williams had done well in completing the Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment program and was doing community service, while being supervised every fortnight. The 51-year-old's sentence assessment report also mentioned positive things about him.
"You're doing all the right things Mr Williams, so let's just keep you out of jail," Mr Wilson said.
Williams was sentenced to a six-month community correction order for all three charges and ordered to compensate the victim stores for the stolen items.
