Just five minutes after a woman left her home, Mariah Gunter clambered through her bathroom window with a plan to steal anything of value.

The 34-year-old went through the drawers in the victim’s bathroom before searching the house.

She left with just over $17,000 worth of jewellery and other items, including gold and diamond bracelets, rings and necklaces.

But the Hamilton house wasn’t Gunter’s only target.

Last week, she appeared in the Hamilton District Court for sentencing on the burglary, along with thefts from Briscoes and Woolworths.

Dishonesty spree

The court heard that Gunter, a former employee of Woolworths Dinsdale, stole an unspecified $1400 device from the supermarket on January 30, 2023.

She grabbed the device from the supermarket’s customer service desk, hid it between her hand and her purse, and left the store.

Later that year, on July 1, Gunter was in the Rotorua Central Mall.

There, she walked into Briscoes’ electronics section and grabbed a Mygenie vacuum, worth $1199.99.

She put the vacuum near the store exit and left. But three minutes later, she returned, grabbed it and took off.

The next month, on August 26, Gunter broke into a house on Hukanui Rd in Hamilton.

The victim left the house at 1.40pm.

Minutes later, Gunter climbed through the bathroom window.

She stole bangles, earrings, rings and a necklace, as well as an Arlo camera and other miscellaneous jewellery and household items totalling $17,052.

Police found her fingerprints near the bathroom window.

The following month, Gunter went through a traffic stop, and police found 0.63g of methamphetamine in her handbag.

At her sentencing, police prosecutor Sergeant Stephen Leet sought reparation on behalf of the victims.

He noted that the only item recovered in the burglary was the victim’s jewellery box.

‘Basically, you’re an addict’

Referring to the presentence report, Judge Glen Marshall said Gunter’s offending was driven by her drug addiction.

“Basically, you are an addict, and you have really been living in a climate of unhealthy relationships and activities,” he said.

“The offending was driven by the need to fuel your addiction.

“You have a risk of health and other problems if you don’t get that under control.”

On two charges each of theft over $1000 and failing to attend court, and one count each of procuring meth, burglary and breach of supervision, Judge Marshall took a starting point of two years and three months’ imprisonment.

He then allowed discounts for her guilty plea and addiction before landing on 21 months.

That sentence was then converted into nine months’ home detention.

Judge Marshall also ordered that she pay reparation of about $3000, which included a $500 insurance excess payment to the burglary victim.

“Make sure you don’t become involved in burglaries or the like or dabble in drugs, again,” he told her as she left the dock.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21 years.