A teenager who was involved in a string of break and enters has been sentenced after spending three-and-a-half months in jail.
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Dennis Peter Paul Wilson of Forest Reefs Road, Millthorpe was sentenced in Orange Local Court in May for participating in a string of break-ins in Orange, Millthorpe and Bathurst, as well as stealing a BMW in suburban Sydney.
According to court documents, the then 18-year-old was on bail when he was involved in multiple break and enters in the early hours of October 21, 2023.
At 1.30am that day, Wilson and several associates entered a home in Orange through the back door, which had been left open for a dog to come and go.
He and about six co-offenders then stole the victim's Nissan Navara using keys that had been left on the kitchen bench.
The Navara was driven to Bathurst where it mounted an embankment and got stuck at Abercrombie about 2am.
The offenders walked away from the vehicle which was later seized by Bathurst Police for forensic examination. Wilson's fingerprints were found on the front passenger door.
After abandoning the Navara the group broke into the garage of a nearby property and stole a Mazda 3.
They entered through an unlocked window and the vehicle keys were in the ignition of the unlocked car.
Police conducted a forensic examination of the garage window and found four fingerprints, which all matched Wilson.
Car owner prevents theft
The stolen Mazda was captured on CCTV in Millthorpe between 4.05 and 4.10am.
One of the known co-offenders exited the vehicle but Wilson and the others went to two neighbouring properties where they approached an unlocked Subaru and an Audi.
They entered the Subaru but its female owner saw her brake light illuminate and ran out of her house yelling at the offenders.
They all ran off and got back into the stolen Mazda and left the location.
High-speed pursuit
About 4.26am on the same morning the Mazda was travelling west along the Mitchell Highway well over the speed limit at Lucknow when police saw it.
They got into a high-speed pursuit that continued to Orange and through residential streets until it was terminated for safety concerns after the Mazda ran a red light in Lords Place and crossed to the wrong side of the road several times.
The stolen Mazda was later found parked in Elliott Close, Orange, and a forensic examination found another of Wilson's fingerprints.
Wilson was arrested at 11.20am at Orange Police Station on November 1, 2023. At the time of his arrest he was on bail after breaking into a house at Oatlands, Sydney, and stealing a BMW.
Daylight burglary
The Oatlands break and enter took place between 8am and 9.35am on April 7, 2023, after Wilson watched the victims leave their home in a second car.
As the family drove away Wilson was seen walking from another vehicle, which was parked opposite the victim's house. He was wearing a blue surgical mask and waved at the victims as they drove past.
Once the family was out of sight Wilson entered the house via an unlocked door from the pool to the garage and then entered the house through another unlocked connecting door.
He stole multiple items including $650 in cash as well as a BMW M3 that was parked in the garage.
Inside the BMW was the garage remote and an envelope containing about $4700 in cash.
PolAir called in
About 9.45am the victim and his family returned home and discovered the BMW was missing and the house had been broken into.
They contacted triple zero as well as BMW so they could gain access to the in-built GPS tracker in the vehicle.
The GPS revealed the BMW was at the Dunsmore Street, Rooty Hill, and the information was relayed to police.
Pol Air was also involved and saw Wilson enter the vehicle and drive towards a unit complex relaying the information to other police who stopped the car and arrested Wilson.
"I found the car Sarge, I'm sorry," Wilson said.
He was searched and police found $3800 in cash and a blue surgical mask in his pocket.
When asked where the money came from he said, "I don't know Sarge, from the car, it's from the house, I don't lie."
The sentence
Wilson, who is now aged 19, was sentenced in Orange Local Court on May 8, 2024.
Magistrate David Day had refused him bail after his arrest in November and noted that he pleaded guilty to the break and enters and stealing the BMW after other charges were withdrawn.
The court was told he was "very young" at the time of the offences and had a limited criminal history.
"It's clear on the facts that he wasn't the mastermind for any of this, he was along for the ride, so to speak ... he was well and truly one of the led," Mr Day said.
"The community quite rightly expects custodial sentences will be imposed for these type of offences and it will be."
However, Mr Day said Wilson had demonstrated a capacity for rehabilitation since his arrest and community protection could be achieved by a sentence in the community.
However, he ordered that Wilson "puts something back to the community".
Mr Day convicted Wilson and gave him an 18-month intensive correction order from May 8, 2024, to November 7, 2025 for the offences.
He also ordered him to complete 80 hours of community service for two counts of entering a building with intent to commit an indictable offence and an extra 90 hours of community service for entering a dwelling with intent to steal and aggravated break and enter in company and stealing.
