But Judge Emma Smith was not convinced by 45-year-old Dain Wayne Manukau’s explanation.
"You say you medicated your feelings of distress and harm for past abuses by the adrenaline you get from taking other people’s property," she said.
"I call you out. I don’t accept that. I can’t accept that."
Manukau appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading to another five theft charges, convictions added to a list spanning 21 pages.
Judge Smith said nearly half were dishonesty crimes and the defendant had a debt of more than $10,000 owed past victims.
His most recent swag of offences began at the end of May last year and continued for nearly three months.
According to court documents Manukau repeatedly targeted Super Cheap Auto, getting away with nearly $2000 worth of goods over several visits.
He also stole two sewing machines from Spotlight and power tools from Mitre 10 in Mosgiel.
A police summary said Manukau took wire cutters into the store on three visits over a week in August and made off with drills and other accessories worth more than $2600.
The court heard the defendant endured a tumultuous childhood and had numbed the pain with alcohol and drug use through adulthood.
Counsel Liam Collins said his client was now married with children, had given up illicit substances and rarely consumed alcohol.
He said Manukau’s thefts were his way of generating an "adrenaline boost".
"As silly as it sounds ... effectively it was a way to get that rush," said Mr Collins.
Judge Smith called the explanation "unusual" and refused to accept the crimes were impulsive.
"It was premeditated and it was determined," she said.
Manukau had received an array of sentences including imprisonment and rehabilitative interventions but the judge said none had made a difference.
"The time has come for you to appreciate you cause harm to others," she said. "These aren’t victimless offences."
A letter from Manukau’s wife spoke of the pain his offending caused his family, but said there was a "glimmer of hope".
With employment and increasing stability of family life, Judge Smith agreed.
Manukau was sentenced to four months’ home detention and ordered to pay more than $6000 to the businesses he stole from.
