South Albury man set to stay behind bars until early 2024 over latest crime spree

It was 9pm, it was the middle of winter on Wagga Road, and the 33-year-old was in no hurry to order any food.

No cheeseburger and fries, no quarter pounder or hot apple pie.

He was in no hurry to do anything at all.

Dobbs, Albury Local Court has heard, gave the impression he'd been drinking because he was so unsteady on his feet.

Eventually, after half an hour of standing around, Dobbs walked to the front counter.

He waited for a short time, but no one was ready in that moment to serve.

Next to him was a bench where online orders were being placed, ready for delivery drivers to collect.

Dobbs sighted several bags. He moved over, grabbed the lot and walked out.

"Hey," a staff member called after him, "that's not yours, bring it back!"

He didn't, and Dobbs wandered off into the night with his thieved food, costing the fast-food restaurant $90.

Dobbs has appeared in court before on larceny and shoplifting charges, having been jailed for such crimes as pinching spirits from the Albury Dan Murphy's store.

But the events of July 13 in Lavington weren't the only matters that had him facing sentence, via a video link to jail, by magistrate Melissa Humphreys.

The South Albury man pleaded guilty to larceny for the Macca's heist, but also to separate and unrelated charges of custody of a knife in a public place, possess a prohibited drug, possess or attempt to possess a prescribed restricted substance and shoplifting.

Defence lawyer Eva Medcraft said Dobbs' criminal history "does not assist him".

"In fact," she submitted to Ms Humphreys, "it's pretty horrendous."

His latest spate of offending put Dobbs, also known by the surname of Calvert and who had been living with "very anti-social elements" in the community, in breach of parole.

One charge involved Dobbs stealing a power tool bag from a vehicle parked opposite a work site on Sanders Road, Lavington, in the early afternoon of June 23.

The owner of the tools had been given a lift by a work colleague. Once they arrived he got out and grabbed some of his gear.

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Dobbs walked past the ute about 2.30pm and stole the bag, inside which were items including a grinder, arc saw, a planer and batteries.

He then walked north towards Prune Street, the bag slung over his shoulder.

Police saw Dobbs walking along David Street, Albury, on July 13 about 1.20am and realised his appearance matched a person captured on CCTV thieving the haul.

Dobbs tried to deny it was him. The cops though showed him a CCTV still, then laid their charge.

"The value of the tools, it's not insignificant," Ms Medcraft said.

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But she said the theft was "completely opportunistic" and "it was not sophisticated in any way".

One of the other charges related to Dobbs carrying a knife with a 14-centimetre curved blade in the Boomerang Hotel, Lavington, and soon afterwards at the Northside Hotel, on the evening of June 9.

When police arrived at the Northside, Dobbs told them "I've got a knife".

When asked why, he replied: "Just to hang on to."

Ms Humphreys noted how Dobbs had "serious matters of violence" on his record.

She said the theft of the tools, valued at $3941, would have caused the owner "considerable inconvenience".

Ms Humphreys said the McDonald's theft might have been quite low in value, but this was aggravated by his background of dishonesty and the fact he was on parole.

Dobbs was sentenced to 11 months' jail, with a non-parole period of seven months. He will be eligible for release on February 7, 2024.

He was also ordered to pay compensation of $4031.

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