Burglaries leave 'carnage of emotions'

Kate Aynsley and Garry Power were in Greymouth over the Labour Day weekend in 2015 when their...
Kate Aynsley and Garry Power were in Greymouth over the Labour Day weekend in 2015 when their house was burgled. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
A man with an "extensive and awful history'' of criminality ransacked two Dunedin houses during a long weekend and stole more than 200 items worth at least $50,000.

But 29-year-old Iraia Aranga Ngamotu Burton left behind a balaclava, DNA from which was traced back to him.

As well as the two burglary charges from Labour Day weekend 2015, Burton had admitted two counts of receiving dozens of items from other residential burglaries.

While behind bars on remand, he also attacked another prisoner and chalked up a conviction for assault with intent to injure.

Burton was jailed for five years and three months when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.

Judge Michael Crosbie described how the defendant waited until people would be away on holiday, then targeted houses in the affluent area of Maori Hill.

Donning a balaclava and gloves, he went to the home of Kate Aynsley and Garry Power in Balmacewen Rd and used a screwdriver to access the house through a window.

The couple were in Greymouth.

Burton went through every room, rifling through drawers, cupboards and wardrobes.

He took five televisions - four of which had been mounted on the wall - among the 143 stolen items.

After finding the spare keys to Ms Aynsley's 2006 Ford Falcon in the laundry, Burton loaded his haul into the back.

He also found a key to a storage container on the property and took power tools and building equipment before driving off with the goods.

Most painfully for the victims, Burton made off with a sapphire and diamond ring that had been given to the couple by Mr Power's recently deceased mother.

``The thought someone could be wearing this just made me sick,'' Ms Aynsley said.

While electronics could be replaced, she said the family photos stored on computers would be lost forever.

Another lasting reminder of Burton's break-in was cooking oil he had spilled on the carpet as he carried out a deep fryer.

On hot days after the burglary, the house reeked, Ms Aynsley said.

``It's taken a long time to enjoy our home again but we'll never enjoy it like it was before it was tossed by you,'' she said.

On the same weekend, Burton also hit a house in Lynn St occupied by flatmates Damon Johnson, Stuart Henderson and Ryan Keogh.

The trio spoke to the Otago Daily Times days later and were flabbergasted by the cheek of the burglar.

He had defecated in their toilet without flushing, they said, and had been quite choosy with which clothes he stole, leaving behind any with holes.

As well as taking electronics, Burton got into a safe and stole two firearms and two boxes of ammunition, which Judge Crosbie said was particularly aggravating.

``The disturbing element of the burglaries ... is it was not simply a matter of the property that was taken, it was the homes they felt were trashed, as were their lives,'' the judge said.

With a DNA trace from the balaclava, police raided two properties associated with Burton in Harrow St and Carr St.

There, officers found a cache of stolen property.

As well as items from the Maori Hill cases, they also found goods from burglaries in Stansfield St and Calvert Pl, which resulted in the two receiving charges.

The judge acknowledged the distress caused to the victims and said he hoped Burton recognised their trauma.

``You have left a carnage of property and emotions in your wake,'' he said.

``Real effects on real people.''

In a letter to the court, Burton wrote he had spent more than half his life in residential care, institutions or prison.

``There are moments in one's life when reality finally dawns and a decision needs to be made,'' he said.

Judge Crosbie said he hoped there was truth in Burton's words.

However, he noted the defendant's history of dishonesty and violent offending, and said the man ``can probably be regarded as institutionalised''.

Any court order imposed on Burton to make him repay the victims would be futile, the judge said.

rob.kidd@odt.co.nz

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