A Dapto man who broke into a warehouse and stole almost $14,000 worth of appliances including 24 vacuum cleaners has narrowly avoided time behind bars.
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Joel Sandri, 31, was sentenced for two separate break-ins at Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to eight charges.
Sandri was caught on CCTV arriving at a Marrickville factory warehouse in a white Mitsubishi Pantech truck about 8.30pm on January 13.
He was seen exiting the vehicle wearing a high-vis top before he used bolt cutters to break through a metal gate.
Inside the factory, Sandri swiped 24 vacuums worth $500 each, three electrical sweepers worth $400 each, and two electric air pumps worth $240 each.
He exited the building after 10 minutes and loaded the truck up with the stolen goods.
In the early hours of the next morning, police were patrolling a Corrimal street following reports of suspicious activity about the Mitsubishi truck which was parked on a kerb.
Officers approached the vehicle and saw Sandri, wearing the high-vis top, in the driver's seat. He got out as police looked inside and saw the bolt cutters and swathe of appliances.
They ordered the truck be towed for further examination and Sandri was later arrested on January 16.
Prior to this incident, Sandri committed an early morning break-in alongside an alleged female co-accused on December 12 last year.
The pair entered the underground car park of a Zetland apartment complex in a Land Cruiser Prado before they snooped around and smashed the window of a green Mazda MX5.
Sandri got in the Mazda while his co-accused drove through the car park's boom gate in the Prado, causing more than $15,000 worth in damage.
Police were called to the scene and found the Prado dumped nearby, lifting Sandri and his co-accused's fingerprints from it.
Sandri's phone records also placed his device in the Zetland area at the time of the offence.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to aggravated enter in company and break out, break and enter, larceny, stolen goods in personal custody, damaging property, and three counts of driving while disqualified.
Magistrate Michael O'Brien said it was a "great pity" Sandri had no insight into his actions while in the grips of an illicit substance.
"That's one of the insidious aspects of illicit drugs ... that it turns people from Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde," he said.
The magistrate opted to impose a sentence in the community, sentencing Sandri to a two-year and six-month intensive correction order.
Sandri was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid community service work, abstain from drugs and adhere to a mental health care plan.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
