A court has viewed CCTV footage of the moment an alleged crime trio smashed their way into a hotel during a spate of break and enters at businesses across the Riverina.
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Ryan Jeffrey Maunder, 29, has pleaded guilty to four charges – three counts of aggravated break and enter to commit a serious indictable offence and one count of armed intent to commit an indictable offence.
The spree started at Coolamon, before hitting businesses at Temora, Junee and The Rock.
It is alleged the trio used weapons, including a car jack, a claw hammer and a sledge hammer, to smash its way into the businesses to steal alcohol and cigarettes in late January and February.
Crown solicitor Lisa Hanshaw said the footage provided an eye witness view of three people acting like a well-oiled machine, during submissions in Wagga District Court on Friday.
“It shows how quickly they smashed their way in for a large quantity of alcohol,” Ms Hanshaw said.
“It would have taken significant planning to get that venture down to a fine art.”
Ms Hanshaw told the court Maunder was a driver during a number of the offences and one Coolamon hotel was hit twice throughout the spree.
“They didn’t waste any time did they – they were on a mission,” Judge Gordon Lerve said.
Ms Hanshaw said the offending called for an aggregate sentence to deter like-minded individuals, referring to the attitude of the offender in reports tendered to the court.
Maunder’s solicitor told the court there was planning involved but it was not substantial.
“It’s not rocket science – you go in, you see the cigarettes and alcohol and you get out,” Mr Shaw said.
“It’s not top level.”
Mr Shaw said his client had made full and frank admissions against his interest, from the word go.
“When he made those admissions to police he suggested the motivating reason was his addiction to methamphetamine,” he said.
“He maintains strong family connections and has expressed a desire to return to Western Australia when he gets out of prison,” he said.
Having been in custody since February, Mr Shaw said his client had limited access to rehabilitation courses while on remand.
“He has a conscious awareness of what substances do to him – how it causes him all sort of bother," he said. Maunder will be sentenced in Wagga District Court on October 11.
