Jail time for Northland burglary spree reduced for drug addict

Constable Maneual Paul among a large number of items Nathan Solomon stole to sustain his drug addiction. Photo / Tania Whyte

The High Court has reduced time behind bars for a Northlander who went on a burglary spree targeting commercial and residential premises to feed his drug addiction.

Nathan Solomon and a woman were arrested late last year after Whangārei police found more than 140 stolen items inside a Bream Bay house, including power tools, large indoor and outdoor furniture, whiteware, building supplies, stereos, speakers and TV sets, clothes, sports equipment, kitchen appliances, rings and watches.

He was jailed for three years and five months after pleading guilty to a string of burglary charges, as well as for possessing cannabis for supply and possession of methamphetamine.

Solomon appealed in the High Court, arguing that insufficient discounts were given for personal mitigating features and his guilty pleas.

Police stopped the car he was driving and found a couch at the back which had been stolen from a property in the Bream Bay area.

About 20g of cannabis, digital scales, plastic bags, and .22g of meth in his wallet were also found.

The same day, a search warrant was executed at his home and officers discovered items that had been stolen from commercial premises, storage units and construction sites over 13 months.

Solomon was deported from Australia in 2018 after serving time over meth charges in order to sustain his addictions.

A report submitted to the Whangārei District Court when he was sentenced said he became reliant on alcohol and cannabis from age 13, and began using meth when he turned 18.

When he moved to Brisbane at age 21 or 22, he was using cocaine and ecstasy.

The sentencing judge considered nothing in the report required a discount, did not accept his self-report of anxiety and depression, or that Solomon's addiction deserved recognition.

At appeal, Justice Rebecca Edwards said the issue was the extent of Solomon's drug addiction and its causative link to his offending.

"The sentence imposed is manifestly excessive because it failed to reflect the impact of Mr Solomon's addiction as a cause of the offending."

Justice Edwards substituted his sentence with a period of two years and 10 months.

The case of a woman arrested with Solomon is still before the Whangārei District Court.