A 32-year-old man who stole copper from Bunnings to sell it to a metal scrapyard has been sentenced to jail until his parents can travel to the ACT to supervise him, a court heard as his parents listened to proceedings via audio link.
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ACT Magistrates Court documents state that Kiran James Eichmann, who was previously locked up for wounding in Queensland, stole the copper on July 30 and August 3 last year at Bunnings stores in Greenway and Fyshwick.
During the first theft, Eichmann, co-defendant Tania Woods and an unidentified man grabbed the copper coils, worth $793, before leaving in a silver Peuguot.
In the second incident Eichmann stole $1333 of copper, with both incidents being caught on CCTV.
On August 3, a witness called police after he saw Eichmann, Woods and another man unwrapping the fresh, brand-new-looking copper rolls at a Fyshwick metal scrapyard the day prior.
His suspicion increased when he saw them wrapping the rolls away from CCTV at the site and started video recording them.
The copper was sold to that scrapyard for $616.90.
My aim is Kiran will not be released until you are there to meet him and hopefully he would stay in your company.
- Magistrate Beth Campbell
After the arrest, police reviewed Mr Eichmann's phone and saw messages between him and another person in which they talked about doing a "snatch and run".
Police suspected the message related to the alleged theft from Bunnings.
A few days after the second copper theft, Eichmann, whose listed residences in court documents include Isabella Plains and Hume, and an unidentified man stole two videogame steering wheels from JB Hi-Fi at Westfield Woden.
Eichmann pleaded guilty to seven charges, including joint commission theft, obtaining property by deception, minor theft and driving offences.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Beth Campbell sentenced him to nine months' jail backdated to December 6 and to be suspended from January 23 upon him entering a good behaviour order.
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He will then undertake a residential rehabilitation and undergo restorative justice, which he requested to do.
Ms Campbell said she set the suspension date to allow his parents to travel to the ACT to supervise him before rehabilitation.
"My aim is Kiran will not be released until you are there to meet him and hopefully he would stay in your company until he's been enrolled [in rehabilitation]," she said.
Ms Campbell also told Eichmann that if he were "committed to your own reformation, that means turning yourself into a law-abiding member of the community".
"It doesn't mean just getting off the drugs. It certainly means not committing any further offences, but it also means acknowledging and atoning for what you have done and the harm you've caused to others," she said.
Reparation orders were also made for him to pay Bunnings $599 and the scrapyard $2126 within 12 months.
He was also convicted and fined $1200 for unrelated driving matters in March 2021 when he was on parole for about five months.
The court heard his co-defendant, Woods, has pleaded guilty to obtaining property by deception but has not been sentenced.
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