Jail for teen as rock-solid case nabs granite thief

At Napier District Court Judge Geoff Rea said Malcolm Karauria had an appalling record of youth crime. Photo / File

A 17-year-old who has committed at least 17 burglaries was yesterday sentenced to nine months' jail after admitting offences which included stealing several slabs of granite from a Napier benchtop supplier.

Malcolm Karauria, of Napier, was identified from CCTV images of a theft from Hyderabad Rd business Pinnacle Stone in April and admitted his role in the theft when challenged by police.

As a result some of the granite was recovered, Judge Geoff Rea was told in Napier District Court.

Karauria appeared for sentence on one charge of theft, one of burgling a private residence, one of shoplifting, one of attempting to take a motor vehicle, one of unlawfully using a document, and one of escaping the custody.

Judge Rea said Karauria had an appalling record of youth crime, a history of 16 previous burglaries, one aggravated burglary and one aggravated robbery.

Considering reports to the court, and noting some of the latest offending was committed while Karauria was on bail, the judge said normally with one so young he would have been prepared to "take the risk" of imposing a non-custodial sentence such as supervision but the history and the teen's attitude indicated that to do so would ensure more victims would be created.

The judge was bemused by the latest offences, saying: "Why on earth you'd want granite I don't know."

Owners of the business realised on April 26 that items had been stolen from their yard. A review of security camera recordings showed the theft of two granite slabs and five granite halves two days earlier.

Karauria was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for the residential burglary and two months concurrently for the theft of the granite.