The man who smashed gravestones at a historic Reid church during a drug and alcohol bender has been sentenced to more than three years in jail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
James Dudley March, 24, was drunk and high on the drug ice when he damaged and destroyed headstones dating back as far as 1863 at StJohn's Church in May this year.
He also broke into a house in Griffith and ransacked the owner's library, stealing a laptop and modem worth $2099.
March was identified after police matched him to fingerprints at the scene of the burglary.
When police examined his mobile phone they found text messages he had sent to his former partner, describing what he had done at the churchyard.
A friend of March's partner also overheard a phone conversation in which he talked about smashing the gravestones.
In the ACT Supreme Court yesterday Justice John Burns described March's spree as ''significant mindless criminal damage'' and said the offence was serious because cemeteries were virtually unprotected.
Although police estimated the damage to the gravestones at $30,000, the true value was impossible to guess because of the historic significance of the headstones and the emotional trauma caused to the relatives of the deceased, he said.
Justice Burns said March had a traumatic childhood, was abandoned by his drug addicted parents and had begun drinking and taking drugs as a child.
He took into account the fact March was working to address his substance abuse problems and had been accepted into a drug rehabilitation program.
But he also said he was not confident March would be able to fully rehabilitate himself and the young man had been assessed as a high risk of re-offending.
He said March had not shown complete remorse for his actions because he had tried to avoid detection and had refused to name the man who was with him at the time of the offences.
Justice Burns sentenced March to three years and eight months' jail, backdated to May.
March will be in full-time custody until July next year before spending another 12 months in weekend detention.
The balance of the sentence was suspended and March was placed on a three-year good-behaviour order.