A woman turned on every light of her East Albury unit to try to prove to a burglar that she was the only occupant, a court has heard.
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Bethanga man Brendan Thomas had woken the woman with loud banging noises after forcing his way into her home.
Thomas, Albury Local Court has heard, did not believe the woman when she said she was the only occupant.
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"Who lives here? Where is he?" he asked the woman, who had stirred when Thomas got into the unit on May 17, 2021, about 4.45am.
Thomas had kicked open the front door of the unit, damaging the locking mechanism.
The now 29-year-old unemployed man has pleaded guilty and been committed for sentence before the District Court in Albury on two separate sets of charges, including aggravated break and enter and commit a serious indictable offence
He will be sentenced also on charges such as contravention of an apprehended violence order and custody of an offensive implement in a public place.
The case will be mentioned on April 22.
Magistrate Sally McLaughlin agreed to a request from defence lawyer Dane Keenes for the preparation of a sentence assessment report.
Police told the court the woman who lived in the Schubach Street unit did not previously know Thomas.
After she woke, the woman got out of bed and walked into the living area.
That was where she found Thomas, who was standing in the middle of the room.
After asking his questions, police said, the woman told Thomas she lived alone and that no one else was in the unit.
To prove this, the woman began turning on lights throughout the unit.
Thomas then began to act strangely.
"The accused," police said, "began to grunt and growl at the victim and the victim noticed him to be swaying on his feet at the point."
Thomas then turned away from the woman before grabbing her television set off a stand close to the front door.
Thomas then walked outside with the TV.
Once he left, the victim noticed her wallet had gone missing.
The woman called police, who noticed the aerial and power cords for the television had been dragged out the front door.
They also saw the broken lock.
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