Burglar’s snoring wakes occupants of house

Maiora Wirihana had broken into his fifth house of the night when, overcome by the effects of whiskey and methamphetamine he had consumed, he fell asleep on the floor of his victim’s bedroom.

It was a moment of ignominy, reminiscent of the famous fairytale burglar Goldilocks, that was made worse when the occupants of the house were wakened by his loud snoring.

The details of the increasingly inept burglary spree of Maiora Pop Wirihana, 40, were revealed when he was sentenced to three years in jail when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Tuesday.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to five charges of burglary, one of possession of methamphetamine, one of possession of utensils for consuming methamphetamine, and one of using a document – namely a credit card – for pecuniary advantage.

It was a raft that flowed mostly from the unusual events of the hours of darkness of February 5 and 6 this year, when Wirihana began his ultimately doomed spree of household break-ins.

It was destined to be a difficult affair from the outset because, as the police summary of facts for the case reveals, he had preceded his caper by buying $2000 worth of methamphetamine and ‘‘copious’’ amounts of alcohol ‘‘and commenced a splurge of substance abuse which became the catalyst of his subsequent offending’’.

That offending began at midnight with a break-in of an apartment in Patterson St in Frankton. Wearing gloves and a hoodie, he entered via an open bedroom window.

The female occupant of the apartment was in the kitchen at the time. Hearing noise coming from the bedroom, she went to investigate and found herself face to face with Wirihana. He signalled for her to be quiet and said ‘‘Give me the money, give me the money’’.

His terrified victim told him the money was in her car and she had to go and get it. They went out the front door – at which point she fled, screaming for help from a neighbour.

Wirihana also fled the scene, but not before popping back inside the apartment and stealing the woman’s eftpos card.

By 12.45am he had made his way to a house in Campbell St, which he entered through an unlocked front door. He woke an occupant of the house, who confronted him.

Wirihana laughed at the victim, walked into an unoccupied bedroom and lay down on the bed. Wirihana then apparently pretended to be asleep, and did not move when shaken. The victim then went to check on other occupants of the house. Wirihana got up, found a bag belonging to the victim, and proceeded to empty the contents onto the bed. Then he grabbed a set of keys and took off, dropping his cap on the driveway in his haste to get away.

At 2am he went to a house in Maitland St, again entering through an unlocked door. The female occupant of this house was watching television, heard a noise and found and confronted him.

Wirihana fled out the back door and over a fence into a neighbouring property. This time he left behind a shoe.

At 3.20am he arrived at another house in Maitland St, gaining entry through an open window. He found a backpack and took it to the garage, where he emptied the contents onto the floor. He took a packet of tobacco, a lighter and a set of darts. Then he went back into the house and into a bedroom, where he accidentally woke the occupant.

Wirihana dropped to his hands and knees and attempted to crawl away. He was grabbed by the victim, but broke free and ran out the front door. At 4.10am he broke into another Campbell St house and made his way to the bedroom where he fell asleep on the floor, waking his female victim with his snoring.

Unable to rouse him, she called the police, who arrived and arrested him.

The officers noted he had a white, foaming residue around his mouth. He told them he had ‘‘been me all day boss, drinking whiskey and smoking drugs’’.

When asked what he had been smoking he replied: ‘‘Heaps of P’’. The police found a backpack nearby, with two glass pipes, two plastic straws, cotton buds and five self-sealing plastic bags.

In court, Wirihana was also sentenced for an earlier burglary on January 10, which was followed by the spending of $66.99 at a service station using a credit card stolen in that burglary.

His counsel Lyn Walkington said although it was unfortunate that he had ‘‘interfaced’’ with his victims, he had not been violent towards them. He had written letters of apology to each of them.

Judge David Cameron took note of Wirihana’s ‘‘appalling’’ criminal history, including 45 convictions for previous burglaries – the most recent of which earned him three years of jail in 2014.

It was a sentence that was repeated on Tuesday.

Wirihana must also pay his victims reparation of $531, being the total value of the items he stole, plus the amount he spent using the stolen card.