A homeless drug addict who broke into two churches was jailed for 2½ years yesterday.

Andrew Arorash, 55, was sentenced in Magistrates’ Court for two counts of burglary, two counts of trespassing and three counts of possession of drug equipment.

The terms were handed down after he had spent five months on remand.

The court heard that Arorash, of no fixed address, had targeted the churches between March 5 and 15 this year.

The first incident took place at the Hamilton Seventh-day Adventist Church on King Street.

The court heard that Craig Outerbridge, a deacon, attended the church on March 5, only to find out that several tools were missing from his toolbox.

Items included a hammer drill, a saw, a corded drill and a canvas tool bag, totalling $676 in value.

Mr Outerbridge then found signs of someone entering the church, including an open window, and reported the incident to police.

Officers lifted fingerprints from the window sill as part of their investigation.

On March 16, a caterer at Wesley Methodist Church on Church Street in Hamilton found the kitchen’s refrigerator and pantries wide open.

About $15 had been taken from the till, as well as three boxes of ziplock bags and a case of coconut milk. The goods had a combined value of about $100.

The property manager reviewed the church’s CCTV footage and saw that a man had broken into the property the night before and went through the kitchen and nursery.

The footage was handed over to police the next day. Officers identified the man as Arorash and arrested him.

During the arrest, police found a small glass bottle with wire mesh and two silver sockets on him.

Arorash admitted they were for smoking drugs, but told police: “I took them off someone.”

Police linked the Seventh-day Adventist Church burglary to Arorash while he was in custody.

They also discovered that he had failed to answer police bail after his arrest for possession of two pieces of drug equipment.

Arorash, after declining a police interview, said: “I just want to plead guilty and get the f*** away from here.”

Daniel Kitsen-Walters, for the prosecution, pointed out that Arorash had a history of drug and theft-related offences.

He called for jail sentences on all charges but added that he did not have a problem with them running concurrently.

Nicole Smith, for the defence, pointed out that her client had struggled for years with drug addiction and homelessness, which fuelled his criminal behaviour.

Ms Smith, while not objecting to a custodial sentence, asked that Arorash be assured a position at the Right Living House programme for drug rehabilitation.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson sentenced Arorash to 2½ years’ imprisonment for the burglary at the Seventh-day Adventist Church and two years for the Wesley Methodist Church theft.

She also sentenced him to 18 months’ imprisonment for each trespassing charge and six months for each of the drug equipment charges.

Ms Anderson ordered all sentences to run concurrently and for Arorash to take part in the Right Living House programme with six months of probation after his release.

Arorash told the court: “I’ll give it my all.”

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