DNA found on a beer bottle at the scene of a burglary connected Joshua Foster, 22, to the crime.
DNA found on a beer bottle at the scene of a burglary connected Joshua Foster, 22, to the crime.
Pinching a beer from the fridge of a home while it was being burgled - then leaving the sculled bottle at the crime scene - was the undoing of Joshua Foster.
The 22-year-old’s DNA linked him to the “bad burglary”, which saw a vehicle and a firearm taken among the thousands of dollars worth of property stolen in the South Taranaki break-in.
It was a crime Foster claims he was not meant to be a part of, stating he had drunkenly got into a vehicle and “ended up” at the burglary.
But then after police tracked him through his DNA found on the lip of the bottle of Export 33, he refused to give officers the names of the other perpetrators.
Foster has now taken full responsibility for the burglary and on Wednesday he appeared in New Plymouth District Court for sentencing on the admitted charge.
The court heard that the victim was away from his Opunake address on the night of December 26, 2021.
Foster appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday. Photo / Tara Shaskey
When he returned, he found his garage door open and the drawers in his kitchen pulled out.
Among the items stolen were his vehicle, a firearm, ammunition, two Xboxes, a water blaster and a GoPro camera.
The firearm and ammunition had been taken from a locked gun safe which had been broken into using an axe.
The man’s vehicle was later found burnt out in Inglewood, roughly 65km from his home.
When police searched the property, officers found a beer had been taken from a fridge in the garage and was left on the steps at the scene.
Foster initially could not offer an explanation as to why his DNA was detected on the bottle but later conceded he was a part of the offending.
In court, defence lawyer Paul Keegan described the crime as a “bad burglary” given the extent of loss and that a firearm was also taken.
“My instructions in relation to it is [Foster] was at a party. He was very, very drunk and he got into a car with some people and ended up at this burglary where he helped himself to a beer which was later found to have his DNA on the lip of it.
“He either doesn’t know or he is refusing to name who was with him but he is the one carrying the can at the moment. He was there, knew where he was and what was happening and becomes a party to that offence.”
Keegan sought a sentence of community work coupled with supervision, which was supported by the Crown.
Prosecutor Rebekah Hicklin suggested a start point of 18 to 22 months imprisonment was appropriate which, following a discount for Foster’s guilty plea, would land him a community-based sentence.
Hicklin said the only issue was whether Foster could offer any reparation.
Keegan said his client had no savings and was a beneficiary who lived with family.
The victim received an insurance payout to cover the stolen property and sought $3600 for the excess of the claims. A further $2300 was not sought by the victim but was lost after jewellery of that value was stolen in the burglary and not covered by insurance.
Judge Gregory Hikaka said Foster, who also faced a set of driving charges, had somewhat of an anti-authority attitude.
“You’ve got problems moving ahead, Mr Foster, if you don’t sort it out,” the judge said, warning if “this sort of behaviour” continued he risked being sent to prison.
Foster was sentenced to 12 months of supervision, 200 hours of community work and was ordered to pay $3600 reparation. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.
The sentence incorporated an admitted charge of driving while suspended third or subsequent. Police prosecutor Zane Webby withdrew charges of failing to stop for police and driving dangerously.
Tara Shaskey joined the Herald in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter based in Taranaki. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.
