The Chief Justice sent a warning to drug addicts who violate people's homes and steal to support their habit when he sentenced a 40-year-old man to five years in prison for a summer crime spree.

Chief Justice Austin Ward said he will continue to ensure the protection of the community - which he said outweighed any rights of a drug addict.

Dean Anthony O'Brien, of no fixed abode, appeared in Supreme Court for sentencing on Friday after he pleaded guilty to two counts of housebreaking and stealing $653 in cash and goods this past July.

And an argument by O'Brien's lawyer that he be given rehabilitation as an alternative to prison for his actions was a wasted argument, according to Mr. Justice Ward.

He told lawyer Elizabeth Christopher that O'Brien had "many opportunities" to clean up his act, but showed no interest in trying to kick a 17-year drug habit, which had propelled him into a life of crime.

"There are no alternatives for Mr. O'Brien," the Chief Justice said.

"There is nothing an agency can do for him without his willing compliance - he has had opportunities since 1984. He was directed for drug treatment after his release in 1998 - but as soon as he was released, he got back into trouble.

"How can the accused be more important than members of society - I will never elevate the accused to a higher level of society in which the accused can operate. We should try to rehabilitate him, but he must make a greater effort to rehabilitate himself."

In earlier submissions, Crown counsel Shade Subair said O'Brien had gone on a broad daylight crime spree in July, forcing entry into two Warwick residences.

His escapades netted him $53 in cash from one house and a $600 diving watch from another.

He was later arrested after Police managed to collect finger print evidence linking him to the break-ins.

Ms Subair said that the stolen money and property were never recovered and warned that "there is a need for the community to be protected from offences of this nature".

"An immediate imprisonment of three to five years should be given," she said. "It is the Crown's knowledge that many burglaries occur by drug addicts to support their habit - and self-induced addiction cannot be relied on in mitigation."

However, Ms Christopher clung to the argument that based on amended legislation, O'Brien should be given an alternative to incarceration, saying that he was assessed by Harbour Light and "he was suitable for treatment in their facility".

But after a lengthy deliberation over his judgement, Mr. Justice Ward said: "I have considered the alternative to incarceration and have rejected it. The protection of households and the community must be given some weight. The accused is not a first offender and I am of the view that he should take responsibility - I sentence him to five years on each count and for him to be enrolled into a drug programme six months before his release. It would be short-sighted of him to be returned back to society."

Mr. Justice Ward said that the sentences were to run concurrently.