A Frankton beneficiary convicted of burglary, theft and receiving charges has been spared prison because of his efforts to turn his life around.<\/p>\n
Deane John Jones, 51, was sentenced in Queenstown\u2019s court last month, nearly two years after a spate of offending revolving around stolen vehicles.<\/p>\n
Police say Jones and his associate received a Toyota Hilux stolen from near the Wye River bridge, on the Kingston Rd, in late March of 2024.<\/p>\n
About a week later, the men unscrewed the number plates from another Hilux, which was parked in a rental car yard in Lucas Pl, and replaced them with those from the stolen vehicle.<\/p>\n
Early on the morning of April 20, they were driving the stolen Hilux near Lake Pukaki when they drove down a farm track, climbed a fence and stole two containers of diesel oil from a shed.<\/p>\n
About 6.40am the same day, they went into a construction site near Fairlie and stole a trailer.<\/p>\n
The trailer\u2019s owner, who\u2019d fitted it with a GPS tracker and was able to monitor its location, caught up with the two men and confronted them.<\/p>\n
One of the pair unhitched the trailer \u2014 which had the containers of diesel oil on it \u2014 before they drove off.<\/p>\n
A second receiving charge stemmed from the theft of a Ford Courier ute in Queenstown some time between late March and early April of 2024.<\/p>\n
On April 2, Jones sold a number plate from the ute for $3500 in cash.<\/p>\n
The ute\u2019s owner only realised it\u2019d been stolen a few days later when he received a notification of change of ownership.<\/p>\n
Jones and his associate were eventually arrested and charged with two charges of receiving, theft from a car and two charges of burglary.<\/p>\n
Mountain Scene\u00a0did not attend Jones\u2019 sentencing in Queenstown\u2019s court on January 13, but applied for a copy of Judge Mark Williams\u2019 sentencing remarks.<\/p>\n
Williams said Jones\u2019 criminal history was more than 13 pages long, and included 43 dishonesty-related offences as well as convictions for drink-driving and breaches of court orders.<\/p>\n
A pre-sentence report said his offending could be attributed to drug use and his \u2018\u2018relationships with negative peers\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
Since his arrest, he\u2019d taken part in wellness, health and exercise sessions, and attended alcohol and drug counselling.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d completed a \u2018\u2018positive lifestyle\u2019\u2019 programme and enrolled in a Te Reo course to strengthen his connection with his whakapapa.<\/p>\n
After making deductions for the rehabilitative steps Jones had taken, Williams came to a nominal term of imprisonment of 20 months, which he converted to 10 months\u2019 home detention at Jones\u2019 Frankton address.<\/p>\n
Williams said Jones had been to prison before, and it would be \u2018\u2018very easy for me to send you to prison again this time\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
He was taking a different sentencing approach because the defendant had \u2018\u2018not sat around doing nothing\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018You have actually reflected on your offending behaviour, and you have done something about it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Jones\u2019 co-defendant, who\u2019s denying his part in the crimes and other alleged offending, has a judge-alone trial scheduled for next week.<\/p>\n