Nathan Paul Martin pleads guilty to break and enter

A man who broke into three homes and stole thousands of dollars worth of items, including jewellery belonging to an elderly man’s dead wife which has never been recovered, has been sentenced in court.

A man has been sentenced for his part in a spate of break-ins.

A man who broke into three homes and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of valuable belongings, including jewellery belonging to an elderly man’s dead wife, has been sentenced to prison time.

Nathan Paul Martin, 36, pleaded guilty to three counts of entering a dwelling and committing an indictable offence when he faced Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The court heard Martin, who appeared by videolink, had been involved in three break-ins: Two on the Fraser Coast and one in Tin Can Bay.

One of the break-ins had happened while the elderly owner of the home had been away from the property, the court heard.

More than $10,000 worth of items, including jewellery belonging to the man’s deceased wife, had been taken and had not been recovered, the court heard.

In a separate break-in at another home, about $7000 worth of items had been stolen.

Police had charged Martin after his fingerprints were found at the scene, the court heard.

The court heard Martin had a troubled childhood and had experienced early homelessness.

Martin did “not remember much” of the circumstances surrounding the break-ins because he had not slept for a total of four weeks beforehand and had been under the influence of illicit substances at the time of the offending.

He had previously spent time in custody for similar offending, the court heard.

Martin was remorseful for his actions and had made admissions regarding two of the offences, the court was told.

He had not been out of prison long for previous terms of imprisonment before he reoffended and the new offences had been committed while he was on parole.

Hervey Bay court. Photo: Tracey Joynson

Magistrate Trinity McGarvie said Martin, who had been released on parole in September last year, had reoffended within six weeks.

“I’m told that at the time you were using illegal substances despite the conditions of parole and at the time you entered into three people’s homes,” she said.

Ms McGarvie said she regarded the offending as serious.

She said each of the people whose homes Martin had entered could be regarded as elderly people.

“You entered their homes. You stole from them. The police categorised it as an untidy search,” Ms McGarvie said.

“On one occasion about $10,000 worth of property was taken, on another about $7000 worth of property was taken.”

Entering someone’s home in that way was serious and it undermined the community’s feelings of safety in their home, she said.

“The community is entitled to feel safe from people entering and stealing from them in their homes, they are entitled to feel like their home is their castle.”

Martin had taken away their sense of privacy and safety in their homes, Ms McGarvie said.

She said she had taken into account Martin’s personal circumstances.

Martin had been exposed to early childhood trauma, she said, and had suffered from addiction for a long period of time.

He had taken steps to enrol in rehabilitation, Ms McGarvie said.

She said she would moderate the head sentence she would impose as it would be served on top of Martin’s current term of imprisonment, putting his sentence in the range of three and a half years.

Martin was given a head sentence of two years in prison.

Convictions were recorded and 79 days of pre-sentence custody was taken into account.

A parole eligibility date was set for September 14, 2024.

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