A man who went on a South Island burglary spree became addicted to methamphetamine while caring for his sick wife, a court heard on Friday.
Paul Thomas Sooalo (42) appeared for sentence before Judge Russell Walker in the Invercargill District Court on Friday on 13 charges of burglary, three of receiving, and one each of cultivation of cannabis, possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition.
The offending took place at mainly rural properties in Christchurch, Invercargill, Southland, Dunedin and Te Anau between December last year and May this year.
In total, Sooalo stole more than $250,000 of items, including motor vehicles, jet skis, a boat, firearms, tools, trailers, televisions and jewellery.
In his submissions, Sooalo’s lawyer Bill Dawkins said his client’s burglary "spree" was spurred on by his addiction to methamphetamine and his need to finance that addiction.
There was another group behind him giving the orders for the burglaries and the reparation sought would never be able to be repaid by Sooalo.
In regards to his cannabis growing, Mr Dawkins said the whole operation was a bit "chaotic".
He said his client should be given a full credit for guilty pleas as Sooalo’s previous lawyer, whom he would not name, had entered guilty pleas on his behalf without meeting him and before receiving full disclosure.
"This wasn’t satisfactory for this defendant."
Judge Walker said the burglaries were premeditated. Sooalo scoped out addresses to see when people would come and go from their homes.
A stolen robot lawn mower which contained a GPS, was tracked back to Sooalo’s house.
When police searched the property on May 5, they found many items including licence plates from stolen vehicles, keys and notes pertaining to the burgled properties. They found a firearm and ammunition in his bedroom and cannabis growing operations in his shed and garage.
Judge Walker said Sooalo’s wife had suffered from a terrible medical event four years ago which led her to require 24-hour, seven-day-a-week care with funding for only two hours a day.
Before his arrest, Sooalo had been responsible for the day-to-day care of his wife.
That was when he began using methamphetamine to keep him awake for longer periods of time and he became a daily user. His addiction quickly spiraled out of control, Judge Walker said.
"It was somewhat inevitable you needed more and more methamphetamine.
"I consider this is one of the major factors underlying your offending."
Judge Walker asked Sooalo during sentencing on Friday if he had anything to say.
Sooalo turned to a victim in court and apologised, and also apologised to many family members who were present for his sentencing and his other victims who were not there, saying he did not really know what he was doing at the time.
"Things got on top of me.
"The decisions I made, now I can see, were so bad. It turned me into someone I don’t think I am. I’m sorry."
A testimonial letter written by Sooalo’s mother said her son had gone from being a wonderful son, husband and father to "falling into what she describes as an abyss through drug addiction", Judge Walker said.
"If anyone has any doubt about the actual damage this does to the community they need only look at your case where your addiction has driven offending and left a trail of destruction for your victims."
Judge Walker sentenced him to three years and 10 months jail.
