A MERREDIN man has been sentenced to 42 months imprisonment for the burglary of several houses in the town.
In the District Court of Western Australia in Perth on February 5, Michael Jay Garlett, 22, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of burglary, three counts of stealing, one count of giving a false name, one count of driving with no authority to drive and one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
When handing down his sentence, presiding Judge Phillip McCann said Mr Garlett’s crimes had involved nine burglaries and two attempted burglaries in 10 houses and goods were stolen on at least five occasions.
Judge McCann said in each case, Mr Garlett had prepared himself with a torch, screwdriver and gloves.
He said on six occasions the house was occupied and on two occasions he went into the occupants’ bedroom while they slept.
A significant amount of property was stolen including several hundred dollars in cash plus various small electrical items such as phones, iPods, watches, a laptop computer and other domestic goods.
Judge McCann said despite the petty nature of the stolen items, the burglary had the potential to cause serious harm, especially in a rural community.
“The disruption to people’s lives caused by stealing has to be taken into account in these offences, not to mention the emotional impact of being burgled,” he said.
“People who live in country towns do not have the same sophisticated security systems and the same attitude
towards their personal security that urban dwellers do…I think it’s a really gross invasion of the spirit of those communities to burgle their houses.
“In a sense they’re sitting ducks because of the lifestyle that they lead and while many of those houses might be humble, they’re home to the people that live in them.
“(The offences) were planned, carefully carried out, at night on houses in which people were sleeping, in most cases. They were not opportunistic, they were in the nature of true cat burglaries. I think someone who systematically burgles a house in a skilful way, having deliberately gone there equipped for the purpose, is committing an offence which is very serious and… must be dealt with very severely.”
The judge also handed down a sentence to Mr Garlett for attempting to pervert the course of justice when he gave a false name, which led the court to convict another person in his place.
With regard to Mr Garlett’s personal circumstances, Judge McCann said the man had received a good education up until year 12, had a young daughter and had been a good prospect for an apprenticeship before committing the offence.
“My finding is that you had a turbulent upbringing
but no criminal or antisocial behavior was demonstrated until you’d turned 18,” the judge said.
“You fell into the control of alcohol and a negative peer group.
“You lost your way, unfortunately, possibly not through your own fault, but you did lose your way and now have a lifetime problem with alcohol.”
Mr Garlett’s defence lawyer said the accused had at first decided to commit the burglaries to raise some money so he could make a fresh start, then things got out of hand. Judge McCann accepted this motive and said he understood why Mr Garlett had continued to offend even after he no longer needed the money.
“I’m satisfied that once you were charged over the attempt to pervert the course of justice on July 17 there would have been little point from your point of view in stopping all these burglaries,” Judge McCann told Mr Garlett.
“The technical expression might be that you had a nihilistic attitude to life at that stage.
“Nihilistic means couldn’t care less and I’m pretty sure that that had something to do with the offending.”
Mr Garlett will serve 21 months before becoming eligible for parole, with his sentence backdated to his arrest on July 31, 2009.
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