Petty thief to spend nine months in jail

Anthony Cristopher went on a petty theft spree earlier this year, stealing money and cash cards from wallets in a gym locker rooms and a restaurant staff room. Photo / Getty

A man who stole thousands of dollars from unattended wallets and shops on the North Shore will spend nine months in prison.

Anthony James Alexander Cristopher, 28, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to six counts of theft and one count of dishonestly taking or using a document.

Between January 8 and 23 this year, Cristopher went on a petty theft spree, stealing $500 in cash from wallets in a gym locker room and the staff area of a Thai restaurant on the North Shore. He also took a debit card from a wallet in the gym locker room, which he bought $770 worth of alcohol and cigarettes with.

He also stole $644 of products from The Warehouse on the North Shore on October 2 last year, and $499 worth of perfume from a Life Pharmacy.

Cristopher's lawyer, Henry Laubscher, said none of the crimes on their own would have attracted a prison sentence, but viewed together and in light of prior offending, conceded a prison sentence was unavoidable.

He asked for a reduction in sentence length for Cristopher's "attempts through courses in prison to get his life back on track" and said Cristopher was eager to get back to work and spend time with his 2-year-old son.

North Shore District Court Judge Pippa Sinclair agreed none of the individual offences would have attracted jail time, but said his "extensive history" of offending since 2005 and his high risk of reoffending warranted it.

Cristopher's actions "were bold and brazen"and caused anxiety in those whose wallets he had gone through. The judge noted all the items stolen had been recovered, and sentenced him to nine months in prison.