A judge has told a Wellington man who stole scrap metal from a vineyard to stop "lurking" in Marlborough backpackers' hostels and do something useful with his life.
Ceylus Timothy Samuels, 31, appeared in Blenheim District Court yesterday to plead guilty to stealing $120 of scrap metal in August and breaching his community work sentence for a prior offence.
A police summary of facts stated that on August 3 unemployed Samuels went to a vineyard with another man where they knew scrap metal was stored. As they started putting it in their van, the owner found them and called police, and they put the metal back.
Samuels' lawyer Tane Brunt said the men had knocked on the door of a house at the vineyard and, finding nobody home, saw the scrap metal and decided that, because it was not being used, they would take it.
Judge David McKegg said though the men were not intimidating, the owner felt vulnerable and threatened by the men's unwanted presence on his property.
The judge questioned what a "fine-looking man of 31" with a proud Ngapuhi background and three children in Wellington was doing "lurking" in Marlborough backpackers. Samuels was staying at a backpackers.
"What are you doing here? Damn all. You are 31 and you have a contribution to make and you will not do that lurking down here."
Samuels recently had $9500 in fines swapped for community work but since then had accrued $1200 more fines, Judge McKegg said.
He sentenced Samuels to 400 hours of community work and told him to think of the "fine contribution" he could be making to society as he did the work.
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