By Charlene Macaulay
A burglar who helped steal smartphones and tablets valued at tens of thousands of dollars has narrowly avoided jail.
Zack Amouche pleaded guilty in the County Court last month to one charge of handling stolen goods, five charges of burglary and three charges of theft.
The court heart Amouche, who was 19 at the time and a
heavy user of cannabis and amphetamines, was in possession of and attempting to sell Apple and Samsung smartphones and tablets, valued at almost $145,000, which had been stolen from Optus stores at shopping centres at Brimbank and Epping early last year.
Amouche had also been involved in four separate thefts at Plenty Valley, Brunswick and Cheltenham between February 1 and 9, 2014, when he worked with a group of other men to steal smartphones and tablets valued at $25,272.
On February 12, 2014, he offered to sell a buyer 72 new iPhones for $49,000.
When he met the buyer at a restaurant the following day to complete the transaction, an associate of Amouche’s raided the buyer’s house and stole a large sum of money.
Judge Paul Grant placed Amouche on a two-year community corrections order, during which time he will have to perform 300 hours of community work and undergo treatment and rehabilitation for drug abuse.
He also has to pay $15,732 in compensation to Telstra Corporation and $14,981 to Singtel-Optus.
“The burglaries and thefts from the shopping centres were brazen and planned,” Judge Grant said. “You and your co-offenders wore disguises and, at times, armed yourselves with instruments to effect the burglaries.
“Items were stolen that you knew could be quickly on-sold. The final offence was planned, devious and involved the theft of a large amount of money.”
Despite this, Judge Grant said Amouche’s guilty plea, his lack of prior convictions and actions after being charged – including getting a full-time job and no longer taking drugs – satisfied him that Amouche had good rehabilitation prospects. “This is very serious offending. However, I have been persuaded … [of] my decision not to imprison you.”
