A SERIAL thief, who crept through Port Stephens homes at night, stole cars, and then targeted three service stations and a tobacconist in brazen smash-and-grabs, will be out of jail next year.
Stephen Edward Turner, 37, was last week jailed for at least three years after he pleaded guilty to his role in the two-month crime spree.
Turner broke into homes at Hawks Nest and Salamander Bay while people were asleep and stole cars in early January 2024, before he smashed his way into the BP service station at Salt Ash on January 11 and stole $57,000 in cigarettes.
It was the early hours of January 15 when Turner and Nash Steven Cobb, 37, pulled into the car park of another service station at Salt Ash, broke in through a window and put a chain around an ATM inside.
Despite several attempts, the ATM did not budge when the pair tried to drive off with the chain attached.
The pair then fled in the car, leaving behind about $5000 in damage.
About 10 minutes later, the pair pulled into the service station at Williamtown and smashed their way into the store.
Cobb kept a lookout while Turner broke into the cigarette cabinet, loading 76 packets into a bin before the pair fled.
The cost of the damage done to the service station and the items stolen totalled more than $32,000.
Then, late on the night of March 15 last year, Turner broke into a house at Corlette and stole a Ford Ranger Raptor ute and other items, including two watches and a handbag.
In the early hours of the next morning, Cobb, Turner and another man used the ute to steal an ATM from a tobacconist on Myall Street at Tea Gardens.
It was about 2.50am when two men broke into the tobacconist and put a chain around the ATM.
The driver reversed, ripping the ATM out of the ground and flinging it into a wall.
The three men then rolled the ATM outside and lifted it into the rear tray of the ute before fleeing.
The entire break-in took less than 10 minutes.
The ATM contained about $5000 and was valued at almost $9000.
The ATM was later recovered on the bank of Limeburners Creek and the stolen ute was found without its tyres in Wallaroo National Park.
Port Stephens-Hunter police set up Strike Force Weemala to investigate the crime spree and released CCTV footage and images of the smash-and-grabs in the hope of a breakthrough.
Cobb was arrested at Karuah in July 2024 and in December last year was jailed for a maximum of three-and-a-half years in Newcastle District Court.
Judge Paul Marr last week jailed Turner for a maximum of four-and-a-half years, with a non-parole period of three years.
With time served, Turner will be eligible for parole in December 2027.
