A man accused of a $34,000 jewellery heist was serving a suspended sentence for similar crimes at the time of the alleged offence and had a long criminal history, a court has heard.
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Stephen Foster, 42, appeared before the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday on charges of burglary and theft. He was refused bail.
Police said about $34,244 of jewellery had been taken from Gems & Gems in Civic about 10pm Saturday.
The thief, who was wearing distinctive clothing, was captured on security CCTV taking property from a display cabinet.
On Thursday, police spotted Foster wearing similar clothing, including a blue backpack.
He was arrested and police raided his Ainslie home, where they said they discovered more clothing matching that worn by the offender during the burglary.
But the court heard the stolen jewellery had not been recovered.
A police informant said Foster was a known drug user and information uncovered in the raids indicated he was in debt.
The informant said the defendant was unemployed and had no means to sustains his habit or repay the debts.
The police officer said Foster had a long criminal history, which include 196 convictions and 578 involvements with police.
The court heard the accused was serving a suspended sentence and good behaviour order for similar offences.
Prosecutor James Walker opposed bail, arguing Foster was a flight risk, could interfere with the investigation, and could continue to offend if released.
But the defence argued Foster was on the methadone program and no longer a drug user.
Foster had been subject to drug testing while on the suspended sentence and the results had been clear, the defence said.
Magistrate Peter Dingwall refused the bail application due to fears he could commit more crime.
Mr Dingwall said the prosecution had a strong case against the defendant, whose criminal history indicated strict bail conditions were unlikely to prevent further offending.
