Brett Atkinson, 43, was arrested on Monday night after he entered Finer Fruit in Vaughan St about 5 pm that evening via a rear roller door, stealing the coins from a bag he found in an upstairs managers office.
The court was told Atkinson and his partner had recently lost their home due to a fire on July 3 and were currently living at the Best Value Motor Inn where they were paying $700 per week for rent.
While his lawyer Ian Michaelson described the theft as opportunistic, Magistrate Peter Mithen disagreed saying the act was devious and took advantage of the money which belonged to the business owner.
“I appreciate the house fire knocked you backwards in relation to finances,” he said.
“This is not an opportunistic theft it’s a devious theft for you to take advantage of that bag of money which belongs to someone else, it’s against the law and you probably deserve imprisonment.”
Atkinson, who pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, was observed leaving Finer Fruit following the theft by nearby shop owners who followed him to an address in Wyndham St.
“The witnesses contacted the owner of Finer Fruit who attended the address in Wyndham St and spoke to the accused,” police prosecutor Sergeant Jeff Wren said.
“The accused provided the victim with two $50 notes and some silver coins . . . he took a photo of the accused and contacted the police.”
Atkinson was arrested and interviewed that evening where he made partial admissions stating he obtained the coin bag and later returned it to the owner.
The court heard Atkinson was on bail at the time for deception matters.
Mr Michaelson said his client and partner both received the disability support pension, which left them "strapped for cash" after paying their weekly rent.
Mr Michaelson said the accused was passing through Vaughan St at the time and thought he would call into Finer Fruit and ask for a job, however an "urge overtook him" and he stole the money.
“He later handed the money over when asked and without any confrontation,” Mr Michaelson said.
Mr Michaelson acknowledged Atkinson's long history of dishonesties, including 41 pages of prior matters, however he said there had been a significant de-escalation in his offending from when he was younger.
He urged Mr Mithen to give his client a period of unpaid community work.
Mr Mithen warned the accused he would end up in jail again if he continued offending, describing his extensive prior history as "really disgraceful".
Atkinson was sentenced to a community corrections order of 12 months, which included 80 hours of community work.
He was also ordered to pay $250 in compensation.
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