A homeless man who stole $420 cash from a charity store and trashed a Salvation Army-funded motel room has been jailed for 21 days.
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Ronald Gary Norman, 51, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to charges, including theft, breaching a court order and criminal damage.
Lawyer Jack Rabl said Norman had an acquired brain injury following a motorbike accident in 1998.
He said his client had drug and alcohol problems and had been sleeping rough with his partner after his house burnt down about two years ago.
"His life is, in his words, a complete mess," he said.
Norman was sentenced to 21 days jail with seven days already spent in custody on remand. He was also ordered to pay $648 to the Salvation Army.
On April 11 the Salvation Army organised Norman to stay at the Blue Whale Motor Inn on Warrnambool's Raglan Parade with his partner, despite a court order he not contact her.
The Salvation Army was not aware of the court order.
But on April 15 he became aggressive and the pair were asked to leave. The hotel manager later observed the room, which had been left in a "disheveled sate", the court was told.
Norman attended the Warrnambool Magistrate Court the following day after his partner was denied bail.
He demanded to know her whereabouts before abusing a solicitor, causing security to intervene.
Norman was arrested on three outstanding warrants and for being drunk in a public place.
Those warrants were issued after Norman failed to appear in court for other offending, including the theft of a wallet and $420 cash from an opportunity shop in Frankston on May 30, 3018, and the assault of his partner in Ringwood on March 5.
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