A WARRNAMBOOL drug addict with a long criminal record of committing burglaries has been jailed for eight months.
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Rodney Brown, 49, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to committing three burglaries.
He was jailed for eight months with 37 days already spent in custody counted as served.
Magistrate Cynthia Toose said Brown had used drugs for many years and committed offences of dishonesty to fund that habit.
She said that in 2014 Brown was jailed for three years after a series of armed robberies, with an additional 12-month parole period.
Within five weeks of finishing parole, during September last year, Brown was back using ice and committing crimes.
The three-year jail term related to stealing just $255 in a 12-day crime spree of break-ins and the almost farcical armed robbery of the Warrnambool Bowls Club.
Ms Toose said Brown was involved in self-indulgent drug use and committed crimes which shattered the lives of the victims.
“This was random, opportunistic, predatory offending on soft targets including the Uniting Church,” she said, noting that Brown broke into two addresses after noticing the victims left their homes.
A woman said in a victim impact statement said that after walking into her home she initially feared the offender was still there and grabbed her young daughter.
She said she felt overwhelmed and violated.
“I’m just so sad,” she said.
“One of the rings stolen was left to me by my Nan. There is just so much that can never be replaced. I now hate living somewhere I don’t feel safe.”
The woman said she had fallen physically ill and her studies were extensively delayed because her internet connection device was stolen.
She said notches in the wood of her front door, caused by a screwdriver during the break-in, was a daily reminder of the fear-provoking offending.
Detective Senior Constable Richard Hughes previously said Brown had been wanted in relation to a residential burglary committed in Kerr Street on October 27, which resulted in a substantial amount of jewellery and other household items being stolen.
"Knowing he was wanted in relation to that burglary, Mr Brown committed an offence at a Karana Drive home," he said.
"About 10am on November 14 he saw the resident drive off, broke in but couldn't gain entry to the home through a laundry window."
Detective Senior Constable Hughes said that early in the morning of November 24 Brown went to the Uniting Church in Koroit Street with the intent of stealing cash.
"He forced entry through a rear window using a pocket knife and entered the building," he said.
"An alarm was activated before Mr Brown got to the office and he fled before he could steal anything.”