A 20 year old has been sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in jail after he went on an 18-month crime spree that included numerous burglaries of businesses across Canberra during the COVID outbreak last year.
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Rohan Allan Rosewarne, 20, faced the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to 76 charges relating to burglaries, trespass, weapons and aggravated dangerous driving between October 2019 and April 2021.
Court documents state that other offending included arson and resisting and assaulting police.
Among the litany of burglaries, Rosewarne on March 7-13 forced entry at nine places, including two Domino's Pizza stores, three post offices, a beauty salon and the Mawson Club.
The items he stole included till trays from Denman Prospect's Domino's and Mawson Club's donation tins, raising money for bushfire relief.
He also caused $22,197 worth of damages to the club's point-of-sale computers.
At the Hawker post office, he wore plastic bags over his shoes, gloves and face covering, and carried a sledge hammer to smash the site's glass entry door before stealing parcels.
About one month later, Rosewarne stole a Subaru Outback that he drove dangerously across the city before it was found ablaze in O'Connor.
He was seen hiding in a garden nearby watching the fire before running off.
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Other places he committed burglaries included 11 residential premises across Canberra.
He also had a spare barrel for a shotgun, pointed a weapon at a man and stole a Toyota Yaris.
In January this year, police had to use Tasers to remove him from a car after refusing.
He also kicked an officer and continually resisted even after being placed in handcuffs.
Chief Justice Helen Murrell delivered the sentence, backdated to July 2020, and said she would publish her reasons at a later date due to the complexities involved.
She set a non-parole period of four years and recommended that he be released to a supervised therapeutic environment once the period ends in June 2024.
A repatriation order was not made regarding one of the Domino's with Chief Justice Murrell saying it was "futile" because of Rosewarne's financial position and the time already spent in jail.
Rosewarne, who was on a learner licence at the time of the offending, has been automatically disqualified for about two years after convictions were recorded for the driving offences.
Chief Justice Murrell ordered that the disqualification period be extended beyond his parole release eligibility until a further order by the courts.
She said it was necessary in the public interest to do so.
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