A LONG Gully man who broke into a home and several cars during a "shocking" weekend crime spree has been jailed for 18 months.
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Jamie Leigh Page, 30, was sentenced in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to charges including aggravated burglary and handling stolen goods.
The court heard between March 7 and March 8 this year, Page stole registration plates from a Subaru parked at a Strathdale address.
About 5.45am on March 8, Page broke into a white ute that was parked outside a Jackass Flat home and stole the keys to the vehicle along with several tools.
Page then went to another address about 50 metres down the road and broke into a white Toyota Hilux ute.
He stole Apple AirPods and tools from the vehicle, before entering the property's garage and breaking into a station wagon.
Page stole a wallet that contained credit cards before entering the property via a door in the garage.
The victim woke to the sound of the door opening. She got out of her bed and saw Page coming through the door.
He fled when he saw the victim, running out of the garage and driving off in a stolen Holden Barina.
The court heard about 10.55am that day, police were patrolling the Kennington area.
Officers spotted the Holden Barina and pulled up alongside the vehicle to see Page driving. The 30-year-old sped off at 72km/h in a 60km/h zone to avoid arrest.
Police located the Holden Barina outside a Kennington address about 11.15am.
Page was at the property but jumped a fence and got into the Barina before leaving the scene.
Police searched the property and found the stolen goods.
Officers returned to the Kennington address later that day and found Page sitting in the parked Holden Barina.
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He was taken to hospital under police guard to receive treatment for an injured ankle.
During his police interview later that evening, Page admitted to stealing the registration plates but made no comments about the rest of the allegations.
Page then requested a second police interview where he made full admissions to the offending. He told officers he had been on a bender after taking drugs.
Page was on a community corrections order at the time of the offending.
Defence lawyer Glenn Cooper told the court these serious crimes and Page's prior convictions were linked to his drug addiction.
Mr Cooper said while Page had previously failed to comply with corrections orders, he had been accepted into a residential rehabilitation facility.
The defence lawyer asked the magistrate to defer sentence so Page could have the opportunity of rehabilitation.
But Magistrate Angela Bolger said she would not entertain that idea because it was not a "sensible or viable option".
Ms Bolger said Page had previously failed to comply with corrections orders and was deemed unsuitable for bail on these charges.
The magistrate said the offending, especially the aggravated burglary, was "shocking".
Ms Bolger said the only appropriate sentence was a jail term where Page could do rehabilitation during his parole period.
Page was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in jail, with a non-parole period of 12 months. His 175 days of pre-sentence detention were reckoned as already served.
Page's licence was also cancelled and he was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
If Page did not plead guilty, he would have been jailed for two years.
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