Businessman lost everything and spiralled into meth addiction

Rodger Yardley used shopping trolleys to get high value goods out of the stores without being stopped. Stock photo / 123RF

Shoplifting became the income-of-choice for a businessman who lost everything and then turned to methamphetamine.

Rodger Norman Yardley, 49, was simply loading high value items such as air-conditioning units into shopping trolleys and boldly pushing them out the door of one particular retail group.

He got away with it 13 times, and then got caught and was charged with attempted theft.

Then, more of his offending came to light when the stores checked their surveillance videos.

Yardley, described as a manager, then ended up with a stretch in custody on remand until his sentencing by Judge Joanna Maze in the Ashburton District Court.

He had pleaded guilty to a long list of charges in Christchurch where the offending occurred, but the sentencing was transferred to Ashburton because the judge was visiting from there at the time he entered his pleas.

She listed two charges of burglary, one of possession of instruments for burglary, dishonestly getting into a car, 13 of theft, and one of attempted theft.

Defence counsel Vicki Walsh explained: "His life went into a massive decline when he lost his business, became bankrupt, lost his home, and his relationship, and became depressed. He turned to drug addiction as a coping mechanism, and became severely addicted.

"This offending is undeniably linked to a methamphetamine addiction that needed funding."

She said he now wanted to be clean of drugs, to support his disabled brother.
Yardley wanted to be considered for a home detention term at sentencing because he had already been held in custody on remand since January.

However, there was no suitable address available, Walsh explained. He wanted to go to low-cost transitional housing and then on to longer-term accommodation but the Probation Service was against the proposal.

Probation viewed the accommodation as being unsafe for its electronic monitoring staff because drug use was rife amongst the residents, she said.

Yardley managed to push about $17,000 of goods out the door in the course of his two-week shoplifting spree, leaving the retailer with feelings of "violation and vulnerability", they said in their victim impact report.

Some goods were recovered, so the final reparation figure sought was $9149.
Yardley offered to pay that in two instalments over the next 12 weeks, and the judge made that order.

It means the reparation payment will "leapfrog" another $7600 in reparation he still owes from earlier offending.

The judge said his offending was to feed his addiction occurred after all elements of stability in his life were lost, leading him to spiral into methamphetamine use. He was now seen as "clean" and motivated to address the issue.

She jailed him for two years, but granted leave to consider home detention if an address that probation assessed as suitable could be found. She will be in Christchurch on June 10 to consider that application.