But yesterday, the thief now 18, found himself facing sentencing in Albury Children’s Court five years after his crimes.

And he has a Paddle Pop stick to blame for being caught.

DNA taken from traces of blood on the stick left at the crime scenes provided conclusive evidence against him.

He appeared via video link from Goulburn jail where he is serving a sentence. He pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking, entering and stealing, breaking and entering with intent and with malicious damage.

Magistrate Tony Murray was told the man had two-year control orders with minimum terms of 18 months and was ineligible for parole until January 23, 2014.

Solicitor Emma Hill asked for concurrent sentences on new charges.

Ms Hill said the man had a 10-month-old child.

Mr Murray said the offences were somewhat old and the man claimed in a pre-sentence report that he was “sick and tired of being locked up”.

He was given concurrent four-month control orders without conviction.

Police said the man committed nine breaking, entering and stealing offences in 2007 when he was aged 13.

He had tried to break into a townhouse in Kiewa Street on November 24 that year when a woman was at home with her baby.

The woman went into the laundry after hearing two loud noises.

She saw a sliding glass door completely shattered and a youth halfway through blinds.

He smiled at the woman, retreated out the door and over a rear fence.

Police obtained blood samples from the ground and the top of the fence.

He broke into a house in Nathan Avenue on December 1 and ransacked the premises, stealing property valued at $3385.

There was a red stain near a back door with broken glass. Police took a blood sample.

A house in Pemberton Street was raided late on November 1 or early the next morning.

The youth stole property valued at $10,811, including a 106 centimetre television, home theatre receiver, DVD recorder, gold man’s ring and a video camera.

A Paddle Pop stick was found in the lounge room and analysis gave a positive DNA result.