Couple catch burglar red-handed

After hearing noises coming from downstairs one Saturday lunchtime, a Taranaki couple locked themselves inside their home and shouted that they were calling the police.

Then they saw Tracey Ann Maru walking up the driveway with their stolen property, police prosecutor Lewis Sutton told New Plymouth District Court.

Maru had entered an open garage on the ground floor of the Vogeltown house about 12.45pm on August 17.

An internal door inside the garage led the 49-year-old to a child’s bedroom in which she began rummaging about, Sutton said. Maru came across three empty bags which she filled with items such as laptops, CDs and other household goods.

When the residents spotted her walking away with their belongings they confronted her. Police arrested Maru while she was still at the property.

In court yesterday, she admitted that burglary as well as a further two. On the evening of July 27, Maru entered the reception area of the Braemar Motor Inn in New Plymouth, where she came across a box containing a heater, Sutton told the court. ‘‘She scoped the area to make sure no-one was around and crept inside, being careful not to alert anyone.’’

She took the heater but it was returned the following day after the inn’s owner confronted her.

The following month, she returned to the inn and entered the establishment’s storage shed.

While inside, Maru came across a box of drinking chocolate sachets which she took.

The owner came across Maru in the stairwell of the property and confronted her about the goods. But she took off to her car with the box and refused to give back the sachets.

In addition to the three burglary charges, Maru also faced two of driving while disqualified.

In July, her licence was suspended for six months after she was caught driving while impaired but she has since been caught behind the wheel twice.

The disqualification arose from an incident where police found Maru huffing glue from a plastic bag while parked up in New Plymouth with her keys still in the ignition.

Officers had tracked her down following a tip-off from a member of the public about her driving.

Yesterday, Maru pleaded guilty to all five charges.

Judge Gregory Hikaka called for a pre-sentence report and referred the matter to restorative justice. He also ordered a report to assess Maru’s mental health.

She will be sentenced on December 5.