THE co-offender of premeditated and sophisticated crimes on Wagga City Council just hours after Christmas in 2017 has been sentenced to 15 months' jail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kooringal man Harley Shane Peter Green, 29, appeared via video link in Wagga Local Court on Tuesday after he pleaded not guilty to charges related to breaking in to two council buildings to steal a total of $3316.
Police documents tendered to the court state that Green and co-offender Billy Spicer, 24, broke in to the visitor information centre then the council chambers between 2.45am and 3.30am on December 26, 2017.
The pair had acquired the swipe cards and documents with information about security access codes and the layout of the buildings from a council contract cleaner who lived with a man Spicer knew.
On the morning of the offences, Spicer and Green took a taxi to the visitor centre.
They had put on gloves and masks after exiting the taxi and before gaining entry into the centre.
While inside, they deactivated the alarm system using the security codes before accessing the main safe to steal $2442.
CCTV footage captured the incident, which showed that both offenders knew where the safe keys were located inside the building.
They then went to the council chambers and deactivated the alarm before stealing $874 from the cash registers.
In court, magistrate Christopher Halburd said: "The reality is you would've got a 25 per cent discount if you pleaded guilty at the outset".
"I'm hoping you don't continue down this path when you do get out of custody," he said.
Mr Halburd said he did not want to repeat himself about the issues he raised during the sentencing of Green's co-offender, Spicer, in mid-April this year.
Spicer was sentenced to 14 months' jail.
Mr Halburd at the time said the offence was "striking at the heart of the community".
Green was also convicted and fined for failing to appear at Wagga Local Court for sentencing on the same day Spicer was.
As well, he was ordered to undergo a community corrections order with supervision for 18 months for possessing a prohibited weapon in early 2019 at Kooringal, to which he pleaded guilty.
Green will be eligible for parole in December this year.
Read more court and crime news
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to you inbox each day at 6am from The Daily Advertiser? To make sure you're up to date with all the Wagga news sign up here.
