Meth use wipes burglar’s brain

"He took $20,000 of property and had no idea?" Judge Lance Rowe

A burglar once described as a train wreck waiting to happen has finally crashed, leaving a solo mother and her children traumatised.

Blair Alan Davies broke into their home and stole prized family possessions.

But Davies, 24, says he cannot remember taking $20,000 worth of property from the home, blaming his bout of amnesia on methamphetamine.

Davies was sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court on Wednesday to 23 months’ jail for the burglary.

He was on bail in April 2016 when he went to a Palmerston North property where a woman and her children lived.

Davies tried to jimmy open five windows, before smashing a window with a wine bottle he pilfered from the recycling bin.

He placed two child’s socks on his hands after climbing in, then ransacked the house for electronics, alcohol and documents worth $20,000.

He also took photo albums, the children’s father’s service insignia and the mother’s grandfather’s wedding ring.

He left one of the socks behind, which contained his DNA. The positive DNA hit led to Davies’ arrest.

Crown prosecutor Karl van der Plas said the offending had a significant impact on the family, with one of the children continually wetting the bed as a result.

Davies has committed many burglaries in the past, including stealing projectors from Freyberg High School in 2013.

When sentenced for the 2013 burglary, his then-lawyer Jock Turnbull described Davies as ‘‘a train wreck looking for somewhere to happen’’.

Defence lawyer Penelope Walker said Davies did not remember stealing or getting rid of the property from the 2016 burglary. ‘‘This was methamphetaminefuelled offending.’’

Judge Lance Rowe was openly surprised at that claim. ‘‘He took $20,000 of property and had no idea?’’ Walker replied: ‘‘No idea.’’ The judge said the mother expected to be $5000 out of pocket, because insurance would not cover all the losses.

The family moved house because they did not feel safe after the burglary, and she no longer had any family photos.

‘‘This was a solo mother who spent years working very hard to provide on a single income,’’ the judge said. ‘‘She feels like they as a family have gone backwards.’’

Davies needed to reflect on the harm he had caused while serving his sentence, the judge said. ‘‘We cannot have any more victims like this in our community.’’