But adding two years to his already lengthy driving disqualification was perhaps the least of the Wollongong man's problems on Thursday in Port Kembla Local Court, where he also copped a minimum 18-month jail term.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to a string of offences, mostly relating to a spate of car break-ins committed in August.

Hitting during the night, Mauricio targeted three different cars over the month, nabbing just a few dollars in change for his trouble from two vehicles in Mangerton and Gwynneville.

But on either August 19 or 20 he set his sights on a Toyota Hilux parked in a Wollongong street, smashing a rear passenger window to gain entry.

He managed to make off with a tool box containing a drill, angle grinder, harness, lanyard and boxes of screws and bolts, as well as a GPS and various other items.

But Mauricio hit paydirt when he found a backpack inside the ute containing a wedding ring, sapphire ring set and a collection of nine uncut sapphire stones.

The total haul from the Hilux was priced at $12,500.

Mauricio's fingerprints were found on each of the cars.

On Tuesday, police went to the Albion Park Rail address he was supposed to reside at as a condition of his bail for an earlier drug possession matter, but were told he hadn't lived there since July.

But, as luck would have it, Mauricio was pulled over for a random breath test in Warrawong on Wednesday and, despite giving false details, police discovered he was disqualified from driving until 2043 and also wanted for questioning in relation to the car break-ins.

An application for bail was refused on Thursday and instead the 24-year-old was handed an aggregate sentence of two years in jail with 18 months non-parole.

Magistrate Michael Stoddart urged Mauricio to think of his victims.

"Those situations can have a large impact on people's lives," he said.

"They haven't done anything wrong, they've just parked their car only to find someone has broken in and taken their property."

Mauricio will be eligible for release on March 1, 2017.