But that's exactly what happened in Port Kembla court on Monday afternoon, when long-time crook Garth Martin Murray was sentenced to 10 months behind bars over a series of break-ins, stealings and acts of dishonesty.

Murray ran rampant through the community in late 2014, breaking into houses, cars and businesses and stealing credit cards which he later used to rack up hundreds of dollars worth of purchases at supermarkets and liquor stores in greater Wollongong.

He was found responsible for breaking into the Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School at Fairy Meadow one night in November and stealing laptops and iPads from the year 1 and 2 classrooms.

Police found Murray's fingerprints at the scene the next day.

In September he broke into the Matchbox Cafe at the university's Innovation Campus and stole a safe, while a month earlier he'd knocked off a $1500 pushbike from a unit in Corrimal, later pawning it for $60. A friend of the bike's owner discovered it in the window of the pawn shop and reported it to police.

Murray was arrested in December and remanded in custody.

In a letter penned to the court, Murray said he'd suffered from schizophrenia for much of his life and had been driven by drugs and alcohol at the time of the offending.

However, he said he had changed his ways since his incarceration and was "truly reformed".

Magistrate Michael Stoddart was sympathetic to his substance abuse and mental health problems but remained sceptical about his sudden turnaround, noting Murray had a 30-odd page criminal record.

"The doctors say you have to stay away from drugs and alcohol and continue treatment ... time will tell," he said of Murray's chances of rehabilitation.

He sentenced Murray to a prison term of two years, with a non-parole period of 10 months, prompting Murray to issue an exuberant thank you to his jailer.