A Kooringal man has been jailed after he staged not just one but two break-ins on Wagga homes earlier this year.
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John Stewart, 23, appeared before Wagga’s Local Court on Tuesday for sentencing on a whole host of charges, the most serious of which were the two break and enters on January 26 and February 9 this year.
The young offender was also charged with entering the Wagga Police Station on April 18 with a knife concealed in his pants and driving under the influence of illegal drugs last September.
Stewart arrived at court with a handwritten letter of apology and pleaded with the magistrate to allow him to attend full-time rehabilitation for his drug addiction as an alternative to jail.
“He recognises he needs full-time rehabilitation and, to his credit, without Probation Parole pushing him, he’s been assessed as suitable for a full-time residential program at Calvary,” his lawyer David Barron said.
"He’s got a young daughter, he wants to be a role model, but he can’t do that while he's using illicit drugs."
However, magistrate Christopher Halburd said he did not believe any sentence other than full-time imprisonment was appropriate.
"In a letter written to the court, in his own words, he says he’s ‘more than regretful’ and ‘ashamed’ of himself and his actions,” he said.
"He indicated he had no money and his baby daughter was starving, he indicated that he intended to return the jewellery that was stolen.
"But people in the community are thoroughly sick and tired of people breaking into their homes."
Stewart was sentenced to 18 months’ jail with a non-parole period of seven months and had his licence disqualified for 12 months.
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