A methamphetamine-addicted former Rotorua builder who went on a crime spree including stealing jet skis and sex toys has been jailed for two years and eight months.
The crime spree involved six burglaries, including a rural house belonging to people he knew, and saw him steal items worth more than $50,000.
Hamish Crego-Bourne, 31, appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday for sentencing after pleading guilty to 10 charges, including stealing vehicles, jet skis, firearms and novelty sex toys.
He was sentenced on two burglary charges where items valued at more than $5000 were stolen, four burglaries where items valued between $500 and $5000 were stolen, and two charges of stealing motor vehicles and drink-driving.
Judge Tony Snell described the offending as a "crime spree" and said he took the burglary of a house in Whitianga as the most serious.
He read from a victim impact statement by those who owned the house, who said they knew Crego-Bourne and he had "sat in their house" after a family member had died.
The statement said no amount of money could replace the sentimental items he had stolen, including jewellery belonging to deceased family members.
The victims felt "utterly betrayed" by him.
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Advertise with NZME.During that burglary, which was between May 11 and May 14 this year, Crego-Bourne and another offender went to the rural property in Whitianga and stole a Nissan Navara.
The victim wasn't home at the time and Crego-Bourne and the other person spent a lot of time in the house, covering windows to conceal their activities. They also gained access to sheds nearby.
A safe containing a large number of firearms was cut from the wall of a shed and another one was removed from inside the house. A gas-cutting set, stolen earlier, was used to try to gain access to the safes.
Items stolen included welding equipment, antique firearms, alcohol, engineering tools, ammunition, chainsaws, six working firearms and jewellery valued at more than $5000.
Other offending included stealing novelty sex toys from Peaches and Cream in Auckland, with the haul valued at $1775.92.
Crego-Bourne stole a 2018 Yamaha Deluxe jet ski and trailer, valued at $20,000, as well as a 2004 Mitsubishi Triton utility. Both thefts reportedly took place between May 16 and 17 in Auckland.
He committed three burglaries in Whitianga in May and another in Tairua, also in May.
In the same month, he breached his bail conditions in Rotorua and was later found to be driving with a blood-alcohol level of 85mg, despite holding a zero-alcohol licence.
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Advertise with NZME.Judge Snell said Crego-Bourne's offending would now jeopardise his future career prospects, which he said was sad considering he was a "talented and capable" builder.
His offending was driven by his methamphetamine addiction and he was in the grips of his addiction when he committed all the offences.
His lawyer, Douglas Hall, asked Judge Snell to consider home detention with it being served at a residential drug rehabilitation facility as he said Crego-Bourne had not addressed his drug-addiction issues.
Judge Snell noted he had several opportunities to address his drug habit given his list of previous convictions, which included several driving-related convictions, firearms offences, dishonesty offences, violence offences and non-compliance with court orders offences.
He didn't order reparation as he noted Crego-Bourne had no way of paying.
As part of the sentence, he was disqualified from driving for a month, however the court had previously disqualified him from driving indefinitely.
