An offender who took part in an overnight burglary spree that involved four premises in one street and the threat of a curved knife blamed his impulse to obtain more drugs in anticipation of his parole being cancelled.
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A recently published ACT Supreme Court judgment states that on April 30 last year, Bradley Caine Dawson and at least two others engaged in the burglaries across Canberra's north.
At one premises on Bettong Avenue in Throsby, Dawson used a pair of garden shears to smash two windows of a Toyota Kluger before he rummaged through it.
About the same time, Dawson's two co-accused broke into a house on an adjacent street.
One of the co-accused pointed a curved knife towards an occupant and demanded for her valuables.
The two co-accused went through the house and stole computer devices and a set of car keys to a Honda CRV.
Later that morning, Dawson and the co-accused drove to Casey where the latter stole another car - a Suzuki Vitari - among other personal items.
There, the occupants confronted the co-accused before calling police, who later found the stolen vehicles being driven in Spence and tried to intercept them.
Dawson, who the court was told had a criminal history dating back to 2011, was in the front passenger seat of the Suzuki while his co-accused drove.
Police used a tyre-deflation device against the vehicles, which eventually stopped in Charnwood where Dawson was arrested after trying to flee on foot.
A search revealed he had numerous items, including credit cards and a knife.
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Earlier in the evening, Dawson went to four other premises on Bettong Avenue where his attempts at entering, which were all captured on CCTV, were unsuccessful.
The offender, who was raised in WA and previously worked as a dump truck driver, pleaded guilty to 11 offences, mostly related to burglary and theft.
At the time of the offending, he was on parole for similar offences.
He told the author of a pre-sentence report that his behaviour was opportunistic and resulted from the impulse to obtain more drugs quickly in anticipation of his parole being cancelled.
One of the victims of Dawson's attempted burglaries detailed the insecurity and fear she and her family felt afterwards.
She reported that her children suffered significantly and needed her and her partner to sleep in their beds for one week as they were afraid to sleep alone.
In sentencing Dawson, in his early 30s, Acting Justice Verity McWilliams said each of the affected premises were residential and thereby "frequently considered more serious than burglary offences related to commercial properties due to the importance of ensuring people have some assurance of their own safety and the security of their property inside their own homes".
In relation to Dawson's co-accused's home invasions in Throsby and Casey, the judge said that while he was not present, he "is liable on a joint-commission basis".
"The extent of the offender's recidivism with such a clear pattern of reoffending does reduce the potential for leniency, though the consistent and pervasive role of drug use is a relevant factor which may reduce the weight given to this history," she said.
The judge sentenced Dawson to three years and eight months jail to start from March 31 with an 18-month non-parole period.
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