Trelise Cooper burglary: Thief jailed for fashion crime for more than two years

Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of high-end clothes were stolen from famed fashion designer Dame Trelise Cooper's Auckland office. Photo / Getty Images

The thief who broke into fashion designer Dame Trelise Cooper's office and stole nearly a million dollars worth of high-end clothing has been jailed.

Nicholas James Bush today learned his fate for the high-profile burglary in the Auckland District Court, while Cooper watched on via a video link.

The now 43-year-old Bush, who has worked in the television industry, pleaded guilty last July to three charges, including burglary and a representative charge of obtaining by deception.

Judge Eddie Paul sentenced him to two years and five months' imprisonment.

He added there was "no prospect" for Bush to pay any reparation towards Cooper and her business.

Nicholas Bush, who has worked in the television industry, was sentenced to more than two years in prison. Photo / NZ Herald

The break-in occurred at Cooper's head office in Auckland's Newmarket in October 2020 and resulted in her entire 2021 spring and summer samples being stolen.

Speaking to the Herald after the burglary, Cooper said access was gained into the styling room through a vent in an electrical room.

"One lonely hanger is all that's left," Cooper posted on social media.

Court documents show between 6pm on October 17 and 8.30am on October 19 some 2000 items of clothing, valued at about $887,612, were stolen. The court has also heard from the judge the value of the stolen garments may have been closer to $750,000, higher than the previously estimated 1800 items valued at $500,000 shortly after the burglary.

The police summary of facts, released to the Herald, further details how Bush was identified as the suspect.

A couple of days after the burglary, an employee of Cooper's noticed a drunken bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water in a service room near the entry used during the break-in.

The bottle was forensically examined and had Bush's DNA on it.

Bush was one of four people charged by police in connection to the couture crime, which included a cake decorator and florist.

Cooper had also strongly opposed suppression continuing for the group after social media users speculated that her staff were involved in an "inside job".

In a victim impact statement today, Cooper wrote the burglary has had a "long-lasting and far-reaching effect" on her personally, while also causing "massive reputational damage" to her business.

Judge Paul added: "Sadly the microscope quite wrongly went on the employees of Trelise Cooper."

None of those charged by police in the case have any connection to Cooper or her business.

Kathy Stephens (in the pink jacket) hides behind her lawyer Christina Hallaway after her suppression hearing at the High Court at Auckland last year. Photo / NZ Herald

Bush and two others were arrested in November 2020 after police conducted a search of a property in central Auckland.

Court documents reveal Bush and an associate were arrested at the stylish Avani Metropolis Hotel, once New Zealand's tallest residential tower, where 16 stolen garments were found.

A storage unit searched by police, which Bush had visited and was leased by his associate, also hid eight suitcases filled with Cooper-branded clothes.

The two others arrested in November 2020 were 45-year-old cake decorator and private investigator Kathy Stephens and 46-year-old florist Andrea Nicole Edwards. Both deny the allegations against them and are due to stand trial together later this month on charges for allegedly knowingly receiving the stolen garments.

While Stephens is accused of only receiving a relatively small portion of the clothes, including two jackets and dresses, Edwards is charged with receiving the bulk of the garments worth about $500,000.

A fourth person, a woman in her 20s, was also charged last May with allegedly receiving some of the clothing.