A woman stole 183 road signs worth almost $20,000, hoping to sell them for scrap metal so she could buy Christmas presents, Tauranga District Court has heard.
Jocelyn Kiri Ngawaaka Ngatai, a 34-year-old sickness beneficiary, was jailed for six months when she appeared before Judge Michael Hobbs this week.
She had pleaded guilty to stealing a car and five charges of theft of property valued at over $1000.
Police papers said Ngatai met a man at a pub in Napier last December 13.
The pair used a car the man had allegedly stolen to remove the signs from the Bay of Plenty and central North Island between December 13 and 16.
Ngatai was caught by police taking the signs to a scrap metal dealer. The man has not been found.
Ngatai's lawyer, Tony Balme, asked Judge Hobbs to consider a community work sentence.
He said that it was her associate who did the stealing, and she was merely transporting the signs.
Judge Hobbs described the thefts as "relatively serious" and "spree offending".
There were also serious issues of road safety at stake, he said.
Ngatai was sentenced to six months' jail on each of the charges, to be served concurrently. She was refused home detention.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES
Thief took 183 road signs to scrap dealer
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