On March 15, Alabaster and an associate broke into a house on Surrey Rd in Springvale. It was a property Alabaster had previously been inside because he knew the occupant.
The pair stole cash and various items, including eight pairs of shoes, to the value of $10,500.
Nine days later, Alabaster and two associates burgled another house, on Terrace St in Aramoho.
Their hoard included two flat-screen televisions and clothing.
The court heard how Alabaster's drug-taking increased after he became unemployed late in 2011.
With no means to pay for drugs, he resorted to burglary.
Mr Bullock said Alabaster also dealt in "relatively small amounts" of drugs to fund his habit.
But Judge Cameron queried this point. He wondered why Alabaster was buying drugs to sell when he couldn't even afford to fund his own addiction.
Mr Bullock maintained the dealing was not commercially motivated. "It's not as though he was driving round in flash cars or renting sheds to use as P labs," he said.
Mr Bullock asked Judge Cameron to consider handing down home detention.
However, Judge Cameron said Alabaster's personal circumstances were relegated in importance to deterring others from drug dealing and crime.
Alabaster, who continued to look down in the dock during his appearance, was convicted of all charges and sentenced to 28 months' imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $8528.62 in reparation for the burglaries.
