A Warrnambool man's drug-fuelled crime spree saw him break into residential properties, try on clothes and crash into a woman's car, causing it to spin 180 degrees.
Mathew Drinan, 34, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Monday to burglary, trespassing and driving-related offences.
He was jailed for nine months, which he has already served on remand.
The court heard the man was high on the drug ice when he drove a Holden station wagon east on Warrnambool's Raglan Parade on January 3 last year about 7.30pm.
He entered the intersection at Kepler Street, ignoring a red traffic light and colliding with another station wagon.
The crash caused the victim's car to spin 180 degrees before coming to a stop in the middle of the intersection.
The court heard a witness observed Drinan speeding in his vehicle while on the phone in the moments before the crash.
He continued driving before parking at a nearby BP service station.
Drinan then fled on foot.
Later that night he attended a unit in lyndoch Avenue and entered via an unlocked side window.
Once inside, Drinan was observed by a female at the the end of a hallway. He was wearing her purple cardigan.
A male occupant of the property confronted of the man, who said he was looking for clothes.
He then ran back to the room he entered and fled back out the window.
At 1.30am, he attended a Foster Street property and forced entry to a rear locked door, causing damage.
An elderly resident of the property woke up and heard noises inside the spare room.
She called out and Drinan fled the property.
Police attended to find the man had rifled through all rooms, taking assorted items and placing them in a bag, which he abandoned when disturbed.
He was arrested in the yard of a Lava Street property, where he had created a small bonfire.
Travis Brown, representing the man, said Drinan had spent 344 days in custody before being released on bail to live at residential rehabilitation facility Odyssey House.
He said the man had remained drug-free at the facility, where he was given the responsibility of driving residents around and appointed as an Indigenous art coordinator.
Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa said there needed to be consequences for motorists who drove under the influence of illicit substances, risking "potentially life-threatening circumstances".
But he said the man had shown a positive commitment to Odyssey House and his ultimate rehabilitation.
He said if not for Drinan's guilty plea, he would have been jailed for 12 months.
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Jessica Howard
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
