A trio of Illawarra mates have learnt their fate for a brazen early morning break-in of a Barrack Heights home - all while a woman was laying asleep in the bedroom.
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Tracey Butler, Timothy Collins, and Dale McWatters made off with a PlayStation, power drill and credit cards after forcing their way into the Messenger Road property on April 13 last year.
And it was all caught on CCTV.
The owner wasn't at home, but a friend of hers was asleep inside when the group broke through the front door.
McWatters, the brother of murdered Warilla teen Jye McWatters, was recorded walking up to the bedroom, then back down the hall where he indicated to the others to be quiet by putting a finger to his mouth.
The trio spent 15 minutes in the house, with McWatters scattering contents of drawers and a handbag around the loungeroom, while Collins and Butler took a PlayStation 4, a pink battery-operated power drill, and bank cards.
The homeowner received an alert from an app on her phone connected to the cameras that people were in her house.
She accessed the footage and identified the culprits as people known to her. The woman returned home and found the door ajar. Her friend remained asleep inside.
Police were granted permission to attend Collins and McWatters' Warilla unit about 11am that morning, and found McWatters jumping a fence in the backyard.
The pair were arrested, with police uncovering two small bags of meth on Collins and a butterfly knife in McWatters' bumbag.
The stolen items from the break-in were recovered from their unit. A warrant was issued for Butler and she was arrested on May 6 last year.
All three offenders pleaded guilty to aggravated break, enter and commit a serious indictable offence last year.
Exactly one year on from the night in question, Butler, Collins and McWatters reunited at Wollongong District Court on Thursday where they received their sentence.
Judge Andrew Haesler said each offender had a respective personal history that demonstrated childhood trauma and disadvantage.
He noted Collins and McWatters were each exposed to violence and took up the use and abuse of drugs from young ages.
Tracey Butler
Judge Haesler said Butler acknowledged she "needs to choose her friends wisely" after the break-in, adding that custody would interrupt the progress she had made with drug rehabilitation.
"She should be rewarded for her efforts," Judge Haesler said.
Butler was sentenced to a one-year and 11-month intensive correction order, akin to a prison sentence served in the community.
Timothy Collins
Judge Haesler noted 49-year-old Collins had spent much of his life behind bars, and first came before the court at age 11.
"He's very comfortable in jail," he said, adding there was also a "glimmer of hope" since he had stopped drug use.
Collins was sentenced to two years and seven months jail, with a non-parole period of one year and seven months, backdated to April last year.
Dale McWatters
McWatters told the court of his progress with literacy programs since being locked up, and apologised for his "f---ed up" mistake.
He was sentenced to two years and seven months jail, with a non-parole period of one year and seven months.
His long-term partner sobbed in court as Judge Haesler said McWatters would be eligible for release in December.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
