A man went on shopping sprees using credit cards he stole in Reservoir before police found him illegally armed with capsicum spray and a knife. Adam Richards managed to rack up a bill of more than $1700 in just two days by making a heap of small purchases with the stolen cards, Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court has heard. The 28-year-old Reservoir man pleaded guilty before the court on Wednesday, June 10, following his drug-fuelled crime spree in March. The court heard in the early hours of March 30 he broke into a Reservoir property, stealing bank cards that belonged to a business. That day he used the cards to rack up $942, mainly at Northland shopping centre. Richards hit up stores including Donut King, Target, Kmart, MyChemist, Best n Less, Coles Express, BP, Woolworths and Coles. Magistrate Helen Murphy said it was clear he was trying to make as many purchases under $100 as he could using the card’s ‘tap and go’ feature. The day before, on March 29, he’d done almost the same thing, spending $794.82 using a credit card he stole from a wallet after he broke into a car parked in a Reservoir driveway. The court heard he used the card at McDonalds Thomastown, petrol stations and for online buys. On March 24, Richards had broken into another vehicle parked in Reservoir and stolen another wallet, which he used to spend $123.74 at BP service stations. He’d committed a similar crime in Geelong on March 2, when he stole a laptop and a wallet from a parked vehicle, before using a stolen debit card to spend $126.48 on cigarettes and items at service stations. Police caught up with Richards on March 31 when they saw him riding his bike in Reservoir about 1.54am without a helmet. The court heard he tried to flee when police put their lights and siren on. Officers then found he had capsicum spray and a knife in a sheath in his bag, which he said were for “safety issues”. The court heard Richards suffered from an intellectual disability, which was exacerbated by his drug use. Ms Murphy said jail was the only appropriate punishment considering his lengthy criminal history, with Richards having only been released from jail in December following a three-year sentence. She sentenced him to two months’ jail, but he had already been behind bars for 54 days. Richards was also placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond, with conditions that he continue to get help from NDIS and other support services.
