Repeat offender John James Underwood sentenced over Marine Terrace burglary

A 36-year-old Geraldton man who was on a post sentence supervision order when he broke into a unit on Marine Terrace in the middle of the night and committed an aggravated home burglary has been handed a 15-month prison term in the District Court. John James Underwood was serving the supervision order for a 2017 armed robbery when he gained entry to a unit at 2.15am on February 11 while the victim was home. Without the homeowner noticing, Underwood stole the victim’s wallet, Samsung tablet, money and a straw hat. Hearing some noises outside the unit, the victim went outside to confront Underwood, who said he lived in the apartments before walking away. The victim noticed Underwood was wearing his straw hat and returned inside to discover his property was missing. Later that evening Underwood used the victim’s bankcard to purchase cigarettes and food at a Tarcoola Beach service station. About 5.30am a police patrol car spotted the 36-year-old wearing “distinctive clothing” near a service station in Wonthella and arrested him. Underwood was denied bail and has been in custody since February 11. Defence lawyer Xavier Sellathambu said his client was heavily under the influence of alcohol and methamphetamine at the time of the offending but did not act in a threatening or violent manner when he was confronted by the victim. Judge Wendy Gillan said Underwood had a “long criminal record” and another home burglary would land him in hot water. “If you do another burglary in the future you will to go jail for at least two years,” she said. “It seems to me that your drinking and drug use are things that cause you problems in your life.” Underwood’s 15-month jail term was backdated to February 11 and he was made eligible for parole.