Ben Craig Green pleaded guilty to stealing over $16k worth of goods from multiple businesses across Adelaide

A 30-year-old man will face time behind bars after racking up 41 charges, stealing over tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods from Adelaide businesses.

A 30 year old man has pleaded guilty to an eight month crime spree raking up a total bill of $16,624.35.

Benjamin Craig Green sat slumped via video link in Christies Beach Magistrate Court as he pleaded guilty to 41 charges including dishonestly take property without

consent and a breaching his bail conditions.

Green’s offending began on July 31 and ended in March with his lawyer claiming he was sick of waiting for money to come from his public trustees account.

“He was in need of a new computer and said he did everything by the books, cutting clippings out to provide quotes on different pricing but eventually he said he got fed up after he was denied of the money,” his lawyer said.

On March 23 of this year, Green was found to have stolen $1000 worth of groceries from a McLaren Vale Coles including $500 worth of meat which the store never got back.

The police prosecutor told the court there were at least five files all seeking compensation from Mr Green.

“With his situation it’s probably not going to be ordered,” she said.

“The number of offences before the court are rather minor but when you look at them together it’s a serious pattern of offending.”

On multiple occasions Green was found stealing cans of wild turkey from bottle shops, speakers and audio equipment from JB Hi-Fi and tool kits worth up to $1000 from Bunnings.

Magistrate Rodney Oates told court of one rather opportunistic moment in Green’s offending where he reclaimed money from an IKEA product he had not purchased in the first place after finding a discarded receipt outside the establishment.

Adelaide airport IKEA. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“On August 28, the defendant entered the store with a small bag,” Judge Oates said.

“He was seen to attend the self-serve shelves and select a chest worth $249, the witness saw him leave the store with the chest before being stopped and told staff he had entered the store with the chest and wanted a full refund.

“He then provided the receipt and provided the money back but was the original person who made the purchase.”

The 30-year-old’s lawyer told the court his client had been struggling mentally but denied being depressed.

Judge Oates highlighted the most significant thefts across all court files before sentencing Green to a term of imprisonment of 2 years for the theft charges but granted a 30 per cent discount, bringing the total imprisonment time to 1 year and 5 months with a non parole period of 9 months which will be back dated to March 24.

A conviction was recorded for the breaches of bond and the deception charge with no further penalty and no compensation was ordered to any of the victims.