Two mates have been in "found in the act" attempting to steal power tools from a construction site at the North Wollongong Surf Club, a court has heard.
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Wollongong's Joshua Luke Lay, 41, and Brendon Ronald Halsey, 37, were arrested inside the worksite fencing shortly after 3am on Friday.
Both were granted bail in Wollongong Local Court on Friday.
Documents tendered to court said Lay was allegedly carrying a black backpack containing a set of bolt cutters with pink handle grips, two screw drivers, a claw hammer and a small sledge hammer, all commonly used as house breaking implements to force open locks.
Lay and Halsey allegedly jumped over the 2.4 metre-high fence and made their way inside the building with the intention to steal power tools or anything of monetary value.
Their movements were allegedly captured on security cameras and monitored by staff remotely.
About five minutes later, a security guard allegedly saw Lay, wearing the backpack, standing among scaffolding on the outside of the building.
When Lay was startled by the guard, he allegedly ran inside the building, out of site.
About 3.10pm police arrived and found Lay on the southern side of the building inside the fence.
The bag was about one metre away from him and officers noticed he was wearing brown gloves. Halsey was not with Lay, who then jumped back over the fence before he was arrested. Halsey was arrested a short time later.
Both men were charged with entering a dwelling with the intention to steal, with Lay also facing a count of possessing housebreaking implements.
In court on Friday, defence lawyer Jordan Mechan noted Lay was on parole at the time of the alleged break-in and cares for his daughter with special needs.
Mr Mechan submitted while his client was at the site, the prosecution had a weak case as they had to prove Lay had the intention to steal items and the backpack belonged to him.
Mr Mechan noted his client had a poor criminal record, for mainly driving offences, but was doing well on parole and needed support to stay clean from drugs.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Coby Davis opposed bail, noting the men were "found in the act" at the worksite and alleged at the very least they were "trespassing at 3am".
Magistrate Claire Girotto agreed to grant Lay bail to reside at his Wollongong home, report daily, abide by a nighttime curfew and not contact Halsey.
Meanwhile, defence lawyer Analise Ritchie told the court Halsey said it was not his intention to take any power tools or anything else of value as he didn't expect anything to be there at night.
She also noted it was not the "most serious offending" and was "unsophisticated".
Ms Ritchie said Halsey's partner was pregnant and he could stay with his cousin in Mangerton. She also said he was employed doing gardening maintenance before worked stopped due to the pandemic.
Magistrate Girotto noted a full-time custodial sentence was not inevitable before granting him bail. He must abide by a curfew, not take drugs, and not associate with Lay.
Both men will return to court on October 12.
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