Bespectacled burglar foiled in myopic heist

A FOUR-eyed burglar committed a shortsighted crime when he looted more than $56,000 worth of spectacles from a Moonah optometrist.

Jacob Leigh Barron was collecting his prescription specs from OPSM when he decided he would come back later — armed with a screwdriver — to execute his myopic heist.

The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard on Tuesday that between December 29 last year and New Year’s Day, Barron returned to the store with a band of accomplices on three separate occasions. The burglars pilfered tens of thousands of dollars worth of glasses, but police soon foiled their plot.

“You told police you had been in the store about a week before for the purpose of collecting prescription glasses and noted entry to the store would be relatively easy with just the use of a screwdriver,” judge Gregory Geason said while sentencing.

The judge noted about a quarter of the glasses were recovered but they could not be resold.

“The losses caused by your conduct is therefore substantial,” he said. Justice Geason said Barron had a long history with drug use and “a very poor record for prior convictions”.

“You told police you were high during the offending,” he said. Justice Geason said Barron had been diagnosed with a number of medical conditions, including schizophrenia, but his mental health problems weren’t connected to the spectacles theft. Justice Geason also said that over the years, Barron had participated in a number of drug rehabilitation programs. “None of this has succeeded,” he said.

“There comes a point when you must realise that you need to do something. “Prison is an opportunity for you to stay away from drugs.”

Barron was jailed for two years, with an extra six months added after Justice Geason activated a previous six-month suspended sentence.

He must serve 18 months behind bars before he is eligible for parole.