A man who stole a jack and a $200 tool kit from a vehicle parked at an Orange car yard used those items to then steal four wheels off another vehicle.
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Marley Nelson Andrews of Prince Street, Forbes, was on parole when he entered the carpark of the Orange Motor Group about 5.55am on July 22, 2023.
He was still in custody when he appeared in Orange Local Court via an audio visual link for sentencing on Thursday, October 26.
According to documents supplied to the court, 31-year-old Andrews gained entry to a Holden Cruze that was parked in the car yard and stole a toolkit and a jack handle from it.
He then used those items to remove four wheels valued at $800 from another Holden Cruze that was also parked in the car yard.
Staff discovered the thefts later that morning and police examined the scene and found Andrews' DNA on the tool kit and hand crank for the jack.
He was already in custody when the DNA test results came back on August 30, 2023 and he was charged with entering a vehicle without consent and two counts of larceny.
Andrews also faced court for a single count of driving while his licence was disqualified.
According to the documents supplied to the court, police were parked on Anson Street at 2.20am on April 20, 2023 when Andrews sped past in a Toyota Kluger.
Police pulled out and activated their lights and sirens but Andrews continued speeding for a short distance before pulling over in Phillip Street.
A check of Andrews' driver's licence revealed he was disqualified from driving from October 5, 2010 until January 19, 2025.
Solicitor Pravinda Pahalawela said the parole Andrews was on at the time of offending has since expired.
He said Andrews also pleaded guilty to all matters at an early stage.
However, he conceded Andrews' had an "unenviable record" when it came to previous criminal offences and Andrews has been in full-time custody since August 30.
He made a promise to the community that he would behave himself but he didn't.
- Magistrate David Day
Mr Pahalawela conceded the custodial threshold was again crossed with the larceny but asked for the sentence to be served in the community saying Andrews has taken steps in the right direction, and planned to move to Forbes upon his release.
Magistrate David Day asked how Andrews managed to get all four wheels off when the court documents didn't mention him having more than one jack.
"It's hard to do one at a time with a vehicle on the ground," Mr Day said.
Mr Day said Andrews had served a jail sentence before these offences were committed but was let out early for good behaviour.
"He made a promise to the community that he would behave himself but he didn't," Mr Day said.
"His offending is aggravated by his very lengthy criminal history."
However, he said due to the amount of time Andrews has already spent in custody he was at risk of becoming institutionalised, meaning he would get too used to being locked up and his ability to think and act independently or live in regular society was impacted.
"Community protection in my view may be better served by him being in the community," Mr Day said.
He gave Andrews a community-based jail sentence by way of a supervised 18-month intensive correction order requiring 100 hours of community service for stealing the wheels.
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He gave him a 12-month ICO plus 80 hours of community service for stealing the car tool kit and jack.
He also convicted Andrews without further penalty for entering the first car without consent.
For driving while disqualified on April 20, 2023, Mr Day gave Andrews a two-year supervised community correction order requiring 200 hours of community service.
Andrews driver's licence was also disqualified for six months with the ban beginning on August 22, 2023.
The intensive correction orders and community service will be concurrent, however, if Andrews reoffends he could be locked up again for the duration of the sentence.
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