Serial Hawke's Bay burglar told cops stolen goods were his grandfather's garage sale finds

Builders and tradesmen were among those who recovering their gear from the horde of stolen goods at Bridge Pa in August 2016. Photo / File

A Hawke's Bay man facing several years' jail for crimes linked to more than 50 burglaries, after delaying his courtroom comeuppance for almost three years, will be able to share his children's birthday while on bail pending sentencing.

Continued electronically-monitored bail was ordered by Judge Bridget Mackintosh in Napier District Court today after Peter James Gray pleaded guilty to 58 charges, including three of burglary and 50 of receiving stolen property, laid after hordes of stolen property was found in August 2016 at the Bridge Pa home he shared with his mother.

Although had Gray previously breached bailand reoffended while on bail during the intervening two years and nine months since his arrest, the Judge accepted today that there had been no problems with him observing the conditions of recent electronic bail, during which he was able to mark his own 45th birthday last month.

During the prolonged pathway to his admissions, Gray and legal counsel denied involvement in most of the burglaries, claiming his grandfather had accrued the goods from garage sales.

Gray attempted to have all the victims give evidence at a trial which was thus expected to have lasted more than a fortnight, and he moved to have some of the charges heard in separate proceedings.

Pleading guilty after the Judge's previous sentence indication, Gray is scheduled to appear in the court again on July 5.

In the August 2017 search, police found stolen property estimated to be worth close to $150,000, including new kitchen and bathroom units and other construction materials, an attic staircase, tools, furniture, appliances, rugby training bolsters, and scaffolding he took to store materials he could not fit into the garage on the property.

Police raided the Bridge Pa property on August 25, and nailed Gray when he arrived soon afterwards in a vehicle with the wrong registration plates, and gunpowder and ammunition also in the vehicle.

The next day the property resembled an auction mart as burglary and theft complainants from crimes dating back two years arrived to identify their goods.