A Balclutha man who broke into three homes in one night in a search for alcohol has been jailed for more than two years.
And Tama Erihe's brazen burglary spree was preceded just hours earlier by a random street attack.
At 7.15pm on September 1, the 26-year-old was walking down Clyde St when he saw a man on the opposite pavement.
Erihe ran across the road and punched the victim in the side of the face, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
``No reason, no provocation; a man doing no wrong out on a public street and you punched him,'' Judge Kevin Phillips said.
Erihe removed his hooded sweatshirt and hid it in an alleyway in a bid to disguise his identity.
When questioned, he ``stated the victim had yelled the words `allahu akbar' and that freaked him out and so he `donged him one'''.
Within hours, Erihe was back breaking the law.
In the early hours of the following morning, he and an associate went to James St where they forced open a garage door on the hunt for alcohol.
They left empty-handed and continued the search at a Barr St home.
Erihe and his friend swiped booze and medication while metres away, the resident lay frozen in fear.
``He was upstairs in his bed absolutely terrified and he was too scared to come down to the living area of his own property,'' Judge Phillips said.
From there the pair went on to Charlotte St where they got into the kitchen through an unlocked door.
They grabbed bottles of wine, vodka and gin, as well as a beer stubbie and two RTDs, before the victim awoke and confronted them.
The pair immediately fled, the court heard, and none of the $630 of stolen goods was recovered.
Defence counsel John Westgate said his client wanted to address his addiction issues.
``He drinks and makes stupid choices,'' he said.
The judge told Erihe the victims would be affected long after he was released from prison.
``You need to understand this offending affects victims to a major extent and you need to understand that your behaviour will have a lasting impact upon these people,'' he said.
``It's not just disposed of by a guilty plea and a letter. That only goes a short distance. Their problems remain and they are caused by you.''
Erihe was jailed for two years eight months.
