A 19-year-old Alexandra man who stole a wallet from a probation officer and committed a burglary at a property where he carried out community work was sentenced to 12 months' prison when he appeared for sentencing on seven charges in the Alexandra District Court yesterday.
Richard Alexander Coutts, unemployed, had reached "the end of the line", Judge Stephen O'Driscoll said.
He was convicted on charges of cultivating cannabis and possessing cannabis and two pipes for smoking cannabis at Alexandra on July 22; possessing a bong for smoking cannabis at Alexandra on August 6; burglary of a shed at Muttontown between August 6 and 10; unlawfully taking a bike at Alexandra on February 4; and stealing a wallet and cigarettes at Alexandra on June 8.
The majority of the offending had happened when Coutts was on bail.
Judge O'Driscoll said the defendant had 17 convictions since 2008 and prison was the only appropriate penalty. Coutts was ordered to pay reparation of $87 to the probation officer and $369 to the owners of the shed.
