Judge Michael Crosbie described how the defendant waited until people would be away on holiday, then targeted houses in the affluent area of Maori Hill.
Donning a balaclava and gloves, he went to the home of Kate Aynsley and Garry Power in Balmacewen Rd and used a screwdriver to access the house through a window.
The couple were in Greymouth.
Burton went through every room, rifling through drawers, cupboards and wardrobes.
He took five televisions - four of which had been mounted on the wall - among the 143 stolen items.
He also found a key to a storage container on the property and took power tools and building equipment before driving off in Aynsley's 2006 Ford Falcon after he found the keys in the laundry.
Most painfully for the victims, Burton made off with a sapphire and diamond ring that had been given to the couple by Power's recently deceased mother.
"The thought someone could be wearing this just made me sick," Aynsley said.
Electronics could be replaced, she said, but the family photos stored on computers would be lost forever.
Another lasting reminder of Burton's break-in was cooking oil he had spilled on the carpet as he carried out a deep fryer.
The house reeked on hot days after the burglary, Aynsley said.
"It's taken a long time to enjoy our home again but we'll never enjoy it like it was before it was tossed by you," she said.
On the same weekend, Burton also hit a house in Lynn St occupied by flatmates Damon Johnson, Stuart Henderson and Ryan Keogh.
The trio spoke to the Otago Daily Times days later and were flabbergasted by the burglar's cheek.
He had defecated in their toilet without flushing, they said, and had been quite choosy with which clothes he stole, leaving any with holes.
As well as taking electronics, Burton got into a safe and stole two firearms and two boxes of ammunition, which Judge Crosbie said was particularly aggravating.
"The disturbing element of the burglaries is it was not simply a matter of the property that was taken, it was the homes they felt were trashed, as were their lives," the judge said.
After tracing the DNA from the balaclava, police raided two properties associated with Burton in Harrow St and Carr St.
There, officers found a cache of stolen property.
As well as items from the Maori Hill burglaries, they also found goods from burglaries in Stansfield St and Calvert Pl, which resulted in the two receiving charges.
The judge acknowledged the distress caused to the victims and said he hoped Burton recognised their trauma.
"You have left a carnage of property and emotions in your wake," he said.
"Real effects on real people."
In a letter to the court, Burton wrote he had spent more than half his life in residential care, institutions or prison.
"There are moments in one's life when reality finally dawns and a decision needs to be made," he said.
Judge Crosbie said he hoped there was truth in Burton's words.
However, he noted the defendant's history of dishonesty and violent offending, and said the man "can probably be regarded as institutionalised".
Any court order imposed on Burton to make him repay the victims would be futile, the judge said.
