Time's up for criminal

Photo / File

One of the Bay's most prolific criminals is today behind bars after being taken down in an organised crime operation involving nearly $100,000 worth of stolen property.

At just 21, Tauranga's Damon Best once tricked a judge into giving him bail and has amassed a "shocking" record covering more than 80 convictions involving dishonesty and guns.

Now Best has received his toughest sentence yet - three years in jail and a detective says he should serve every day of it.

He was snared in a special police operation in which detectives targeted him for receiving up to $90,000 worth of stolen property, including jewellery, televisions, and computers.

Officers tapped Best's phone, intercepted 12,400 text messages and raided his home as part of Operation Fruit.

Best earlier pleaded guilty to 16 charges of receiving stolen property and three breaches of home detention conditions, and one charge of possession of glass P-pipe, and appeared for sentence in Tauranga District Court yesterday.

The police summary shows between March 3 and September 28 last year, Best sent and received numerous text messages and phone calls advertising a large quantity of goods for sale.

The items were household goods, car entertainment equipment, tools and car parts, with some items advertised as being new and still in their boxes.

Police obtained interception warrants and recorded Best arranging for the sale and collection of stolen goods, and as a result Tauranga police launched their operation on September 13.

On September 29, a number of items were recovered and seized from Best's home including power tools, building site lights and survey equipment stolen from builders storage containers, four gas cylinders, plus several items stolen from Tauranga Salvation Army Store workshop.

Between March 25 and September 29 last year Best also sent and received a large number of text messages in relation to advertising the sale of property which included him asking if any of his contacts could also obtain property for him. He successfully obtained televisions, computers, GPS systems, power tools, jewellery, motor cycles and mobile phones.

Police say the value is estimated at between $60,000 and $90,000, with an estimated $60,000 to $80,000 being advertised for sale.

The value of items recovered was estimated at between $12,000 and $14,000.

Best initially denied any of the property advertised for sale was stolen and claimed he had bought some of the goods on Trade Me and friends who he declined to name had given him some items.

But police inquiries with Trade Me proved he was lying.

Best pleaded guilty to the charges last month at the conclusion of a sentencing indication hearing.

His lawyer, Craig Tuck, told Judge Ingram Best accepted the only outcome was more prison time but his concern was there was a real risk of his client becoming institutionalised.

Judge Ingram said he had structured the sentence with that concern in mind but prison was the only option as Best had a shocking record for someone his age.

Every other type of sentence had been tried but had made no difference to his offending behaviour.

Best clearly had a number of ties to the criminal underworld and was heavily involved in the drug scene, but unless he was willing to take advantage of the rehabilitation programmes on offer in prison and change his ways he could expect to spend even longer periods behind bars, he said.

Officer-in-charge of the investigation Detective Peter Farrell told the Bay of Plenty Times operation conducted over three to four months, involving some intensive investigation work particularly in identifying all the stolen property, and analysing more than 12,400 text messages over a two month period.

"It's been a very good result. Best is a prolific criminal who deserves to be locked up so the people of New Zealand and Tauranga in particular are being protected from his criminal behaviour. In this case I think the Parole Board should make him spend every day of his three-year jail sentence behind bars."