January 23, 2013

Teen jailed on 48 charges

By Anne Clarkson

A teenager faces 26 months in jail and $20,000 in reparation payments for his two crime sprees involving 48 offences.

Eighteen-year-old Philip Graeme Norris was sentenced ?in the Christchurch District Court on charges including burglaries, unlawfully taking cars, and shoplifting.

The first spree started in January 2012 and led to Norris being remanded on bail. Then in July, while on bail, he clocked up more offending.

He was sentenced on 17 charges of burglary, nine of being unlawfully in a yard, five unlawfully taking cars, three shoplifting, six thefts from cars, wilful damage, assault, failing to meet his bail conditions, three of unlawfully getting into cars, interfering with a car, and a charge of receiving stolen property.

Judge John Strettell said the total value of the offending was unknown, but reparation of $38,000 was being sought.

He said the January offending took part in the Southland area, and the July offending was in Christchurch, with some of the burglaries in the Selwyn area.

He said Norris? reasons for the offending were a harmful pattern of drug and alcohol use, unfortunate peer influences, and his acquaintances.

The offending was calculated, planned, involved a serious loss of property, and happened over an extended period, he said.

People lost financially, but the more significant impact was the invasion of privacy, the feeling of helplessness, and feeling unsafe. There was a serious and significant impact on the victims in both the social and psychological sense, Judge Strettell said.

He sent Norris to prison for 26 months and ordered a reparation payment of $20,000 ? less than half the amount that was being sought.