By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
A BERWICK ice addict found with an “Aladdin’s cavern” of more than 140 stolen items at his home will be released from jail in time to witness the birth of his first child.
Yianni Poulos, 26, was arrested after a Casey CIU raid of his home on 24 November uncovered the loot, a court has heard.
It included 22 watches, 15 laptops, several phones and tablets, passports, gift cards and membership cards.
Poulos pleaded guilty on 29 February to numerous property crimes, including burglary, theft, handling stolen goods and the proceeds of crime.
The accused made “some admissions” during a police interview but claimed he’d found most of the items from hard rubbish or he’d bought them from a friend, the court heard.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Tim Barlow said Poulos shared the raided house with his pregnant partner, who was a co-accused. Another co-accused had been jailed, the court heard.
Poulos and a co-offender were accused of stealing from homes, a home garage, a taxi, a Xavier College campus and a car over October and November.
The reported losses included clothes, laptops, an in-car navigator, a Playstation 4, a wallet, passports and other personal ID.
In January, he stole a custom-made surfboard from the back of a ute and pawned it to Cash Converters for $100.
On another occasion, he tried to sell jewellery stolen from a Berwick house on Facebook.
Some of the stolen items were recovered during the police raid.
Poulos also pleaded guilty to a petrol drive-off in Springvale South on 19 January; he admitted stealing the vehicle with NSW plates from Noble Park three days earlier.
Inside the car, police found several tools including a drill and air compressor. A bag of crystal meth was found in Poulos’s jocks.
Some of the crime was committed after Poulos was placed on a community corrections order on 11 November.
Poulos’s lawyer said the accused was now “clean” from his ice habit after spending the past 39 days in custody.
The court heard Poulos had had a “promising career” on a dairy farm, where he had been introduced to ice.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said the “enormous” amount of stolen property and ID had “great meaning” to the owners and was often difficult to replace.
“The amount of property was an Aladdin’s cavern. There would be tens of thousands of dollars here.”
Mr Vandersteen said he would hand down a 60-day jail term, including time served in custody.
It meant Poulos would be released on 21 March, a month before he and his partner’s baby was due.
The judge noted Poulos’s impending fatherhood and supportive family were “protective” factors that reduced the chances of re-offending.
“If you don’t change, your son will be speaking to someone like me here in 15 years’ time.
“If that’s the road you want him to go down, keep going on your merry way.”
The judge indicated Poulos would serve a lengthy community corrections order of at least 18 months on his release, due to the inadequacy of the jail term.
“I could be giving eight to 12 months easily, including an immediate term.”
Poulos was ordered to undergo a community corrections assessment ahead of final sentencing at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 1 March.
