After a search, police found Jesse Lee Harrison-Egan, 20, had $9400 hidden in his clothing.
Echuca Magistrates Court was told Harrison-Egan made full admissions to four burglaries which had plagued Echuca in the first two weeks of December 2018.
He appeared in court on Wednesday to plead guilty to four counts of burglary, four counts of theft, one count of possessing cannabis and one count of using cannabis.
The court heard Harrison-Egan forced entry to a home on Haverfield St, Echuca between December 1 and 3 and stole $9500 in jewellery and other items — just 10 days after he’d been released from custody with a community corrections order.
Between December 5 and 7, Harrison-Egan broke into a High St, Echuca residence and stole $160 of jewellery boxes and men’s wallets.
He returned to the High St residence between December 10 and 11 and entered an adjoining business through a door in the residence, stealing $150 in loose coins and CCTV cameras.
On December 13, Harrison-Egan broke into a Norman Ct, Echuca, home stealing a personal safe containing $65,000, passports and jewellery worth $71,821. He and his associates then went on a spending spree, enjoying dinner and alcohol at clubs and hotels across town and spending money at the pokies.
The following day, Harrison-Egan was in a car with his friends when police intercepted the vehicle and discovered a snap lock bag with 14g of cannabis.
The group was arrested and conveyed to Echuca Police Station, where the thousands of dollars in stolen cash hidden under Harrison-Egan’s clothes was discovered.
Magistrate Jelena Popovic said she felt ‘‘pretty disrespected’’ Harrison-Egan had reoffended so soon after she had granted him release from custody.
Defence lawyer Kate Freshwater said drugs were offered to her client shortly after his release and he chose to engage and reoffend from there.
‘‘He’s having difficulty overcoming these drug issues,’’ she said. ‘‘He has an intellectual disability. And while I understand it may not be possible to release him from custody, I ask for him to engage with pre-release support.’’
Ms Popovic ordered a youth justice report be organised for Harrison-Egan and that he appear before her again in Melbourne on Monday.
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