A man who stole thousands of dollars worth of goods from stores across Ballarat and pawned them to fuel his heroin addiction has been remanded in custody.
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Brendan Lord, 39, faced the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Wednesday as he applied for bail.
The Delacombe man was released from prison earlier this year and has been charged with dozens of charges, including committing indictable offences while on a Community Corrections Order.
The court heard Lord consistently attended a variety of stores across Ballarat, including JB Hi Fi, Bunnings, Big W and The Good Guys, where he stole items of value - including electronics, phones, speakers and chain saws - that he would take to a Ballarat Pawn Shop and pawn for cash to fund his heroin habit.
The offending predominantly took place from April until August this year, though one charge relates to thefts from Woolworths in October.
After receiving a call from police, Lord attended Ballarat Police Station on October 13.
He was arrested for shop theft and admitted all the items he had pawned were stolen items to fund his drug habit.
He was charged with 19 counts of shop theft, 17 counts of obtaining property by deception and one of committing an indictable offence while on bail.
The police informant said there were dozens more shop thefts for which the charges were still pending but would be added once processed.
The court was told Lord has a "significant criminal history" and 26 pages of priors, which he admitted to the court.
Police submitted Lord was an unacceptable risk of committing further offences, a risk to the public and a risk of failing to appear if he was released on bail.
His defence lawyer, Andrew Mitra, said there were compelling reasons for Lord to be released, including a change in his circumstances.
"The offending took place from April to August when he instructs he was in a toxic relationship with another drug user. The offending was to fuel a drug habit, which cost $350-$400 a day for the two of them.
"He is no longer in that relationship and has taken significant steps to address his heroin use."
Mr Mitra said Lord took responsibility for the offending and had indicated he wanted to move forward without drug use in his life.
The promptness of offending so soon after release from prison, a history of failing to answer bail and failing to comply with bail conditions and court orders is such that I'm not satisfied any bail conditions can address the risks of further offending.
- Magistrate Ron Saines
He said a Court Integrated Services Program assessment had been made and he had been deemed suitable. He submitted he would receive considerably more support for his mental health issues and drug addiction through the program than if he was kept in custody and that he currently had employment.
He submitted Lord could be "kept on a tight leash" through regular judicial monitoring to mitigate the risks.
"I would submit if he is able to engage in support through CISP and can demonstrate he can stay off drugs, address mental health issues and stop offending, a combination sentence of a corrections order and prison is well within range."
But magistrate Ron Saines did not believe compelling reasons were sufficiently made out.
"He has been assessed as suitable for CISP but the assessment and bail application has been made without reference to the opportunities for support in terms of drug treatment and rehabilitation which were imposed by the Community Corrections Order by this court in December last year to commence upon release from prison, which occurred early this year."
He did not believe the CISP program differed greatly from what was imposed through the Corrections order, with Lord's breach "comprehensive".
With no permanent accommodation organised for his release, the comprehensive breaches of court orders and no other protective factors in the community, combined with further offences yet to be processed in addition to the more than a dozen dates of offending already documented, he was refused bail.
"The promptness of offending so soon after release from prison, a history of failing to answer bail and failing to comply with bail conditions and court orders is such that I'm not satisfied any bail conditions can address the risks of further offending."
He was remanded in court to reappear in November.
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