Two Dunedin men have been locked up after stealing a car from outside a student flat and using it in the ''audacious'' ram-raid of a nearby liquor store.
Ricky Allen Joseph Gawn and Marc Weir Mitchell scoped out Super Liquor in North Dunedin on March 20.
The pair went to the rear of the premises in the evening, when it had shut, and peered in.
It was clear, Judge Michael Crosbie told the Dunedin District Court yesterday, that Gawn and Mitchell carefully planned the raid.
Seven hours later they stole a Nissan station wagon from nearby and drove to the back of the liquor store.
The driver lined up the vehicle with the doors and slammed it into them three times until the barrier collapsed.
Gawn and Mitchell dashed in and came away with $6242 of cigarettes, leaving $11,000 damage to the shop in their wake.
The car, worth $700, was later found by police burnt out.
The judge said ram-raids were not unique in New Zealand but certainly rare for Dunedin.
Cigarettes were targeted, he said, because they were so easy to sell.
Both men committed the offence to fund their respective drug habits, the court heard.
As well as the burglary and car theft, both Gawn and Mitchell faced other unrelated charges individually - the former admitted theft charges, while his co-defendant pleaded guilty to counts of receiving.
Gawn's counsel, Andrew Dawson, said his client's drug use had been exacerbated by the death of his brother more than five years ago. The father of five was now keen to kick the habit, he said.
''If there's anything that's going to turn things around, Mr Gawn, and provide you with some motivation to do something with your addiction and offending lifestyle, it ought to be those children,'' Judge Crosbie said.
''That's going to be a rather long journey for you to take. These things don't happen overnight.''
Counsel John Westgate, acting for Mitchell, sought home detention on his client's behalf.
He told the court the defendant had done well on electronically monitored bail and was in a ''pro-social environment''.
But Crown prosecutor Craig Power mentioned Mitchell's ''appalling'' criminal history. Among his 47 convictions, 27 were for dishonesty, he said.
Mitchell had completed residential rehabilitation and yet repeatedly relapsed, the judge said.
He underscored the ''sheer stupidity'' of the ram-raid.
''What is of concern is the extent which you were prepared to go to to facilitate your drug habit.''
Gawn was jailed for two years eight months and disqualified from driving for three years, to begin when he was released.
Mitchell got 18 months with a two-year driving ban.
