A MAN who stole more than $375 from a friend has had his jail sentence limited with the hope he will use his parole period to address his drug habit.
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Craig Thomas Ah-See, 45 of Margaret Street, was sentenced to 18 months’ jail with a non-parole period of three months for stealing a Mastercard from a 75-year-old man on April 8.
According to police, Ah-See and the victim had been friends for almost 20 years, with the victim regularly providing accommodation, cash and food.
Police said Ah-See asked to watch sport on television, but when the man was in the shower, he ventured into the bedroom, took the card from a jacket pocket and used car keys he found to steal $20 in gold coins from the man’s car before asking him for a lift into town.
Police said he then used the Paywave function of the card to pay for $32-worth of cigarettes from Liquorland and $153 worth of groceries from Coles, as well as $114 on a portable DVD player and clothing from Kmart and $23 on pre-mixed alcohol from the Royal Hotel bottle shop during a two-hour period.
Some of the purchases occurred using multiple transactions.
He then accumulated almost $33 in cab fares.
Just after 6.30pm, the victim was notified of the unusual activity on his card and cancelled it.
In Orange Local Court on Monday, solicitor John Song said his client had been exposed to drugs and alcohol since the age of 12.
“On that particular day, the drugs did get the better of him,” he said.
“It’s something he regrets doing.”
Magistrate David Day was satisfied Ah-See did not suffer from a severe mental health condition.
“He’s just drug rattled – if there’s a tragedy, it’s Craig wasting his brain,” he said.
“He has 26 years of contact with community corrections, he’s at risk of being institutionalised.”
In addition to the jail sentence, Mr Day gave Ah-See a 30-month good behaviour bond for breaching an AVO with a requirement to successfully complete residential rehabilitation.