Regan James Lester (31) had no history of such offending until last year and had only previously been jailed twice, for short periods, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
Counsel Steve Turner said his client spiralled when he turned to the class A drug following the breakdown of a relationship.
“Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug and leads you into a very poor place,” he said.
“You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to understand Mr Lester’s got an addiction.”
The execution of the crimes, Mr Turner acknowledged, was amateurish.
Lester first targeted a Normanby property, in Dunedin, in January last year but the damage he caused there resulted in his DNA being discovered at the scene by police.
While on bail, his criminal ineptitude rose in concert with his desperate need for meth.
In the afternoon of December 18, the resident of a Union St West flat arrived home with her partner, catching Lester loading items from the property into a waiting vehicle.
What happened next was described by the boyfriend as “like something out of GTA (Grant Theft Auto)”.
Struggling to hill start, Lester rolled backwards, scraping the side of the man’s vehicle before spinning and hitting another parked car on the other side of the street.
As he was disqualified from driving, he sped off, then abandoned his car, before fleeing on foot through North Dunedin.
Lester found a passing motorist in Cosy Dell Rd who accepted payment to drop him off in Brockville, where police later arrested him.
Mr Turner said his client had suffered a head injury at a young age which had made him impulsive and easily led.
Judge Michael Turner accepted the defendant’s background went some way to explaining his criminal bent but he had to pay heed to the victims’ views as well.
The woman who was burgled first said Lester had stolen irreplaceable items and left her with “a sense of violation”.
The victim of the latter incident described the experience as “absolutely terrifying” and felt lucky all her possessions had been returned.
On two counts of burglary, driving while disqualified and careless driving, Lester was imprisoned for two years two months.
He was banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay $1000 reparation.
