Petrol addict jailed for burglary

Ben Hawea, 23, a repeat burglar and trespasser with a petrol-sniffing addiction, was sentenced in Masterton District Court yesterday to 15 months in prison for burglary.

On the night of July 10 to July 11, between 10pm and 8.30am, Hawea had gone into an external laundry in a Masterton address.

He had taken a claw hammer and a pair of gumboots, and was arrested by police some time on July 11 while wearing the gumboots.

Judge Jan Kelly said Hawea had 68 previous convictions, six of them for burglary, and "numerous convictions" for unlawfully being in a closed yard, unlawfully being in a building, theft and trespass - as well as several violence convictions.

The judge said Hawea's offences had increased in both frequency and severity; four of the burglary offences were last year and the other two in 2012.

Hawea had declined to provide an address for an electronically monitored sentence, but was assessed as being unsuitable in any case.

Judge Kelly said Hawea was "addicted to inhalants - most notably petrol" and had a low ability to comply with court sentences.

He had refused to engage with the probation report writer and had to be interviewed in the carpark - because petrol on his clothing "creates a health and safety risk to others".

She said the purpose of the sentence was to denounce the offending, to deter others, and to protect the community.