A Warrawong man who burgled the same tobacconist shop at Albion Park Rail three times in six weeks handed himself into police after seeing footage of one of the break and enters on a community Facebook page, a court has heard.
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Jordyn John Clulow attended Wollongong Police Station on the afternoon of May 25 to “confess” to carrying out early morning raids on the Ash Avenue Cignall shop on March 5, April 5 and April 10, resulting in an estimated $40,000 worth of damages and stock loss.
He allegedly told police he saw CCTV footage of one of the incidents on the Albion Park Community Crime Watch Facebook page and wanted to admit his involvement to “set a good example” for his young family.
Clulow admitted having an accomplice in all three raids (the videos clearly depict two people at the scenes), but has refused to divulge the identity of that person to police.
Court documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday said Clulow had an extensive criminal history including prior theft matters.
During the first raid, Clulow and his co-accused used a crowbar and a hammer to gain access to the shop.
A hammer was used again in the second break-in, while the pair used a vehicle to ram the door of the shop the third time, police say.
On each occasion, the duo made off with a black Nike bag loaded with thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes while using gloves and t-shirts over their faces to hide their identities.
They also stole a safe containing $1,800 during the second break-in.
Police allege Clulow gave details of the break-ins that had not been made public, including the brand of cigarettes stolen each time and the amount of money in the safe.
He allegedly told police he and his co-accused sold most of the cigarettes and split the cash between them.
Clulow was charged with three counts of aggravated break and enter.
He sought bail on Wednesday, with defence lawyer Jack Hibbard saying his client had a mental disability and was currently being housed in protective custody.
“His mother is worried about him in custody….he can’t even tie his own shoelaces,” Mr Hibbard said.
“The fear on behalf of his family is he’s not getting special needs [in custody] he requires.”
Mr Hibbard said Clulow was expected to plead guilty to the charges during his next court appearance.
Magistrate Michael Stoddart refused bail on account of the likelihood of a custodial sentence.
