Discharge for light-f ingered thief

A poorly thought-out smash-andgrab had light consequences for the light-fingered culprit.

Leon Casagrande was discharged without conviction for drunken shenanigans in Motueka on June 21, when he smashed the window of a dairy and helped himself to chocolate bars.

His lawyer, Steven Zindel, said Casagrande had no recollection of the events but accepted them as described by the police.

His client was worried that a conviction would have a disproportionate effect on his career, as he worked on boats and could conceivably work overseas.

Casagrande decided to walk home via Motueka’s High St from an event where he had been drinking on an empty stomach.

He broke a panel of a dairy window, reached through and took nearby chocolate bars. He proceeded up the street, dropping chocolate bars as he went, until he tripped and dropped the rest.

Zindel said the charge was ‘‘strictly speaking’’ burglary but was accompanied by ‘‘unusual circumstances’’.

‘‘He is worried of the attention this may draw, he was wearing a tuxedo,’’ Zindel said.

‘‘He’s not a burglar. He accepts that he is guilty of the charge but he is not a burglar by nature.’’

The next day, Casagrande returned the majority of the chocolate to the dairy, and paid for the repairs to the window and for all of the chocolate taken.

Judge David Ruth said there was a discrepancy between the ‘‘criminality’’ of the offending and the potential consequences.

‘‘It is true that burglary is committed by any unlawful entry of any part of the body, however what seems to have happened here is that you caused wilful damage to a shop, and you stole some confectionary, which would have much less consequences than the charge you have pleaded guilty to,’’ he said.

‘‘The victims here seem to be reasonably well disposed to you . . . they have not banned you from their shop, for example. You paid them $480 without making any bones about whether there should be any deductions for the confectionary you returned and that is to your credit.’’

Casagrande was ordered to give a donation of $500 to the Salvation Army – selected, the judge said, because ‘‘they do work with people who drink too much’’.