Remorseful burglar
He felt ‘embarrassed and ashamed’ after breaking into the unit
A DRUGGED-UP burglar had felt “embarrassed and ashamed and disappointed in himself” when he realised the unit he had broken into belonged to a retirement village, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told.
Lachlan Edward Burton and a co-offender had jumped over a fence and broken into a unit, stealing two laptop computers, on June 16.
He was then found in the yard of another unit and trespassing in Harristown.
His solicitor Amber Acreman told the court her client had been using drugs at the time and had little memory of those events.
However, when he realised it was a retirement village he was “very remorseful”.
“He is thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed and disappointed in himself,” Ms Acreman said.
Burton, 22, appeared by video link from Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre to plead guilty to burglary and trespassing from those offences as well as to drug-driving on Wellcamp-Westbrook Road while on a provisional licence on May 1, to possessing a knife in Stuart St, Mt Lofty, on June 30, and to having cannabis and a range of prescription drugs for which he had no script on July 20.
Ms Acreman said in relation to the prescription drugs her client had been found asleep in the back of his car while his 17-year-old co-offender was asleep in the front.
The drugs had been found in a bag in the centre console but because he owned the vehicle, her client had taken responsibility for the items.
Ms Acreman said her client had a longstanding drug problem having started using illicit substances when he was 14.
He had done 95 days in presentence custody during which time he had done drug counselling courses and when eventually released he intended leaving Toowoomba and starting afresh at the coast.
Magistrate Kay Ryan sentenced Burton to nine months in jail but, declaring the 95 days as time already served under the sentence, ordered he be released on parole immediately.
Burton was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for six months.