A man who stole four puppies in offending described as "callous" and "outrageous" has abandoned his appeal in the Bendigo County Court after being issued a warning by the judge.
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Mark Sione appeared from custody via videolink, charged with aggravated burglary, theft, recklessly causing injury, committing an indictable offence whilst on bail, and false imprisonment, which he earlier pled guilty to in the magistrates court.
Judge Mark Gamble said Sione's crimes were "callous" and "outrageous."
He told Sione and his lawyer, Carlin Grant, that the offending was "frankly very serious".
Judge Gamble said at first blush, the sentence Sione received in the magistrate's court was extremely lenient.
The court heard that in 2021 the appellant and unknown male attended a business in a silver Mercedes with no fixed plates.
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The appellant took four puppies from the premises and put them in his car.
The court heard Sione pushed the victim - the business owner - and used a couch at the premises to block the victim from getting to the phone.
The appellant then jumped into the Mercedes with the puppies and fled.
The court heard the four stolen puppies were valued at approximately $20,000.
The victim was admitted to hospital following the incident, where she stayed for two days.
The court heard the victim received bruising in the incident.
The appellant's fingerprints were located on kitchen table at the business, and he was arrested.
Sione denied the offending and said there was no explanation for his fingerprints found on the table.
Prosecutor Bruce Nibbs read the victim's impact statement to the court.
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In the statement, the victim said her business was trusted by clients to look after their dogs.
The court heard the victim had felt threatened when Sione entered her home.
The victim said when she was pushed over, she wasn't sure she could get up and she hit her temple, resulting in a bruise and was in hospital for two days.
The court heard the victim was so angry and hurt that this happened and the thefts had resulted in flow-on impacts to her clients, including the loss of some breeders' and clients' confidence in the business.
"It's changed everything," the victim said in her statement.
The victim had to install a lot of security at the premises, which was never a worry before, and the security cameras and gates caused a further financial burden.
The court heard it was approximately six to eight thousand dollars to install front gates.
Sione's lawyer, Mr Grant, said his client's crimes were serious and of a "spontaneous nature."
Mr Grant said Sione had been drug affected in the two years prior as a result of a "traumatic incident."
The lawyer said Sione's father passed away in 2019, and that's where his issues began.
Mr Grant said Sione took the loss "heavily," his mood and motivation changed, he started using illicit drugs for the first time, and his marriage broke down and deteriorated.
The court heard the appellant "poorly" attempted to deal with his issues surrounding his drug use.
Mr Grant said Sione's early plea of guilty should be taken into consideration for sentencing.
Judge Gamble said he could well see himself imposing a sentence that was in excess of what Sione received in the magistrates court, which was "extremely merciful."
"He would be looking at a very significant sentence," he said.
"He may want to cut his losses."
Judge Gamble gave a formal warning and Sione's lawyer abandoned the appeal on his behalf, making his original sentence of 201 days imprisonment stand.
Sione has already served his 201 days and will remain in custody for other pending matters that will be heard before the court on Wednesday, November 9.
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