Warren Richard Gray, 62, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday where he admitted two counts of burglary.
The court heard the residents of a Heriot Row flat had repeatedly had garments taken from their laundry room, prompting them to install CCTV.
Just weeks after the camera was set up, on August 6, Gray was captured entering the property and rifling through the victims’ clothing in a washing machine and dryer.
He left with men’s underwear.
Meanwhile, residents of Warrender St had been hit with similar puzzling instances of vanishing undies.
On September 28, when one of the students heard a noise in the backyard, he went to investigate.
He met Gray on the property and recorded the confrontation.
According to court documents the defendant claimed he was looking for his girlfriend "Sheree", then made a hasty exit.
Two months later, police executed a search warrant at Gray’s home and found damning evidence of his underwear obsession.
Along with the burglary victims’ jocks were hundreds of other pairs.
Despite officers uncovering the haul, Gray denied being on the properties in question or taking the clothing.
That stance, though, changed when he appeared in court yesterday.
It was not the first time he had been caught in such a compromising situation.
In 2018, Gray was sentenced to community detention and community work after entering a student flat in Duke St in bizarre circumstances.
He told the occupants he had been instructed to complete a curtain inspection, wandering from room to room while they called their landlord.
Once they confirmed it was a ruse, they threw Gray out.
He was convicted of unlawfully being in a property and the judge warned him that any similar crimes would land him in prison.
Gray was remanded on bail yesterday until his sentencing in June.
Judge Emma Smith directed a pre-sentence that would assess the possibility of an electronically monitored sentence.
Burglary carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
