Chantelle Smith imprisoned for break and enter, theft in Orange Court

According to police, the theft was discovered after the owners of the jewellery box returned home at lunchtime and found their door "wide open" after leaving it locked shortly before 8am on October 19, 2020.

The residents then discovered that a large white jewellery box which contained a number of items, including sapphire gold stud earrings, a Pandora necklace and a nose ring, was missing.

Their home's CCTV footage revealed Chantelle Louise Smith, 30, of Sale Street, entering the dwelling at 8.26am and walking out with the jewellery box.

After posting the footage to social media, the victims were contacted and told to go to a Sampson Street address which Smith was known to frequent.

Later that day, the women attended the residence and were given back their jewellery box but all the items it had contained were missing.

That same day Smith was arrested by police over an unrelated matter whilst wearing the same clothing depicted in the CCTV footage.

During a strip search, officers found some of the stolen items - including the nose ring and the pair of cubic zirconia crystal earrings.

The next day while she was still in custody for the unrelated matter, police questioned Smith over the break and enter and theft of the jewellery box.

When shown the victims' CCTV footage Smith allegedly told police that the person "kinda looks like me", but she couldn't remember committing the offence as she was consuming "large amounts" of alcohol and Xanax (alprazolam) - a prescription drug used to treat anxiety disorders - and she "couldn't remember things".

In Orange Local Court on Monday, Smith was still in custody when she appeared via AVL for the serious, indictable offence.

Her solicitor Andrew Rolfe told the court that his 30-year-old client had "reached a time in her life where she wonders if she'll spend the rest of it in custody".

"She needs assistance to stay out of jail," Mr Rolfe said.

Police prosecutor Beau Riley replied that the community "is sick of Miss Smith committing offences against them".

He added that each time the offender faced court, similar sentiments were presented by her legal representatives about her difficult upbringing, as well as testaments which claimed she had reached a "turning point".

Magistrate David Day said the break and enter was aggravated by her lengthy and serious criminal history - which included an attempted break and enter of an Anson Street business one day prior to the jewellery box theft.

Smith was sentenced to 18 months in prison with a four-month non-parole period. She will be eligible for release on January 31, 2022.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: