James Delis: Former Wesley College student jailed for burglary

A former Wesley College student sank to stealing keys from his property manager girlfriend so he could ransack her clients’ buildings.

James Delis was sentenced to 48 days’ jail and a corrections order.

A privileged man’s drug-fuelled downfall led to him stealing keys from his property manager girlfriend so he could ransack her clients’ buildings.

James Delis, 29, was sentenced to 48 days’ jail and an 18-month corrections order at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday, February 5, having pleaded guilty to a range of charges including burglary and obtaining financial advantage by deception.

Delis took keys to properties his girlfriend was managing in mid to late 2019 then took a mate with him to steal from the buildings.

He stole keys from his partner in July 2019, then used them to access a Hawthorn apartment building multiple times in October, when he stole expensive bikes and golf clubs from storage units.

Delis later stole parcels from a Melbourne apartment building’s mail room with another electronic key he had taken from his partner.

Police found the stolen items when they raided Delis’ home in December 2019, as well as many medical prescriptions that didn’t belong to him, bags of ice, cocaine and GHB.

The court heard Delis had also burgled a Hampton East home in July 2019, damaging the front door, ransacking the home, and stealing possessions including ipads and handbags.

He came to the attention of police again on February 25, 2020 when he was driving with stolen number plates while on a suspended licence.

Inside Delis’ Audi police found a knife, a bag full of car keys, hundreds of pieces of stolen mail addressed to Doncaster, Hawthorn and St Kilda, a range of other people’s ID and bank cards and ice.

The court heard in 2020 Delis had also tried to cash fraudulent cheques written with stolen cheque books and had used stolen bank cards to try to make online purchases, including an Apple watch and tanning bed.

He also used the stolen cards to withdraw cash, spend money on Sportsbet and Ubereats and to buy Coles gift cards, which he sold on Gumtree.

The court heard his thefts using the cards totalled $7772.30, while he attempted to steal another $29,231 on the cards.

Police found Delis was hiding stolen bank cards in a Carnegie storage unit in October 2020, as well as stolen mail in his bedroom at his parents’ Glen Waverley home.

He was finally found with many ID and bank cards, GHB and stolen mail in a car at the Monash Hotel at 6.30am on December 21 and taken into custody.

The court heard Delis came from a family of high achievers, having been to Wesley College and having had strong employment until he fell into drug addiction two to three years earlier.

After hearing the strain Delis’ criminality had put on his supportive family, Magistrate Justin Foster said he saw “tragedy written all over” it.

“I can only look at this background and think about how similar it is to my own,” he said.

Mr Foster said he saw himself in Delis, except Delis had “taken the path of drugs and addiction and (was) destroying his family”.

“This is drug addiction laid large.”

Mr Foster said he was giving Delis “a free kick” in his eyes, releasing him from custody to live with his loving family and get his life back on track.

Delis was ordered to do 75 hours community work on the corrections order.