Pair admit stealing remote, thinking it was iPod

Two Rotorua men have admitted breaking into John Paul College and stealing a remote control for a projector, thinking it was an iPod.

Retimana Duke Dahya, 23, and Shannon Mihaka, 21, admitted a charge of burglary when they appeared before Judge Jocelyn Munro in the Rotorua District Court yesterday.

The police summary of facts states the pair waded across the Utuhina Stream behind John Paul College about 4.30am on Saturday, January 2. Mihaka cut a diamond mesh fence to gain entry into the school grounds.

Once in, the pair forced a door open in the maths building and walked inside, setting off the alarm system.

Mihaka grabbed the overhead projector remote control sitting on the desk as they fled the building, believing it was an iPod.

A dog handler tracked the pair across the stream to Ruth St, where they were found in wet clothes and shoes at the doorstep of a house.

Mihaka had the remote in his pocket. He told police he committed the burglary to steal an iPod to sell for $100 so he could get his brother's car out of the impound yard.

Judge Munro remanded the pair on bail with a curfew from 7pm to 7am.

They will be sentenced on March 10.