A drunken bumbling burglar who says he accidentally set the shed he targeted alight will serve prison time for the incident.
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Wayne McLean, father to members of the T-shirt gang, held a shirt to his face and flipped off a security camera at the Wodonga Cemetery on October 24 last year.
McLean was spotted driving from the property by passing police and was intercepted for a breath test, and later returned a reading of 0.155.
He was banned from having any alcohol in his system while driving at the time.
A check of his car found multiple lighters.
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Magistrate Ian Watkins said on Wednesday the drink-driving - McLean's eighth such offence - was enough to warrant a prison term.
McLean did not appear worried after being stopped by police and told to undertake a breath test.
"No worries, I'll co-operate with you guys," he said.
He returned a reading of 0.155 and his licence was suspended.
The prosecution agreed a message needed to be given to the community "that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated".
Victim impact statements from the cemetery trust and groundskeeper were tendered.
Lawyer Diana Price asked that her client avoid jail.
McLean was caught breaching bail three times following his arrest, and was also caught driving unlicensed on Elgin Boulevard on October 29 last year.
But she said the 51-year-old had been doing well on a court program.
"There's been no substantive offending since the later part of 2018," she said.
The court heard he has a five-page Victorian criminal history and other matters in NSW.
Alcohol has been behind many of his issues, and the court heard he would suffer severe cognitive decline if he failed to reign in his binge drinking.
Magistrate Ian Watkins said he was considering a prison term followed by a community corrections order once McLean is released.
His licence will be suspended for about 30 months.
The matter will return to court for sentence on August 26.
