Rebuild workers’ vehicles targeted to fund addiction
A 30-year-old man who targeted rebuild workers’ vehicles while they were parked overnight was sentenced to prison in the Christchurch District Court today.
Jason Francis Robb, 30, stole or received tools worth over $100,000 to fuel his methamphetamine addiction.
Defence counsel Moana Cole said Robb relapsed into a methamphetamine habit, but was reliable when not using the drug, and was not an inherently dishonest person.
She said he was motivated to complete rehabilitation programmes, and was genuinely remorseful.
Police prosecutor David Rusbatch said some of the offending was while Robb was on bail for theft.
He said the loss to the victims was significant, and some had to replace tools before insurance claims were paid out.
Tools worth over $100,000 were recovered but some were not labelled and will be sold at auction, he said.
Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said he was sentencing Robb on 41 charges including burglary, thefts from cars, receiving, and cultivating cannabis.
He said Robb targeted the vehicles of builders and construction workers who were involved in the Christchurch rebuild.
Robb on-sold the property to pay for his drug addiction and associated lifestyle, and had previous convictions for the same type of offending.
He co-operated with the police and helped recover some items at other addresses, Judge O’Driscoll said.
He told Robb that if he was remorseful he would get rid of his addiction and wouldn’t reoffend.
He sentenced Robb to two years eight months prison and disqualified him from driving for nine months.
Category: Focus
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: