Charles Howard Eugene Ebbin was sent to prison for two and a half years yesterday after he pleaded guilty to three charges of breaking and entering and obtaining goods worth more than $600.

Ebbin -- who has a long history of 105 similar offences going back to 1971 -- also asked the court to take 18 other offences into account.

"I think it is insane the amount of crime I have done,'' he told the court, adding he needed professional help.

The court heard that Police arrested the Friswell's Lane, Pembroke man after they caught him in the parking lot of the Government Administration Building in the early hours of January 20, 1997.

A late working employee there heard glass break and upon investigating found Ebbin looking through the Social Insurance Offices. The employee called Police.

During questioning, Ebbin also admitted breaking into the Master's Bull's Head building on November 30 and stole two portable television sets worth $340.

And he said he broke into Melbourne House on January 6 and stole two radio cassette players worth $350. Ebbin said he sold the merchandise on Court Street.

The total amount of goods Ebbin admitted stealing in the 21 offences was worth $1,088 and none of it was recovered.

Crown counsel Jo-Dina Pearman said that the total value of the three offences for which Ebbin stood before the court was $690 and there were the other 18 crimes that he wished to be taken into consideration.

Ms Pearman said that the proper range was between three and a half to four years.

Moreover, she said that Ebbin needed treatment for his addiction to illicit drugs and his psychiatric problems.

Ebbin's lawyer Elizabeth Christopher meanwhile said that none of the prior probation orders dealt comprehensively with her client's addiction and said a better course would be for the court to order probation with penalties for non compliance.

Ms Christopher said that Ebbin's parents were willing to take their son back home and that the Montrose Substance Abuse Centre was also there to provide assistance.

And she pointed out that her client had admitted the other offences and asked that they be taken into account. This was evidence of his inclination to cope with his problems.

Ms Christopher said that while Ebbin's history of breaking, entering and theft offences was extensive he was not a violent offender and should be given some credit for this.

Before sentence was handed down Ebbin said:"I feel that my crimes of breaking and entering are an illness. I have always been a nice person except for the breaking and entering.

"I have been to prison before but I need professional help. I am sorry that I have been such a mess to society but I want a chance to prove that I am more than just a thief.

"...I think it is insane the amount of crime I have done. I need professional help because all those people in jail talk about is crime and what they can get out of it.'' Chief Justice Austin Ward sentenced Ebbin to two and a half years for the breaking and entering offences and ordered that he receive treatment for his psychiatric and drug problems.