Mathiang Kuol, 30, was released from custody on Tuesday after serving 27 days on remand for the offending which occurred in Shepparton on three separate occasions.
Prosecutor John McNamara told the court Kuol stole a trolley full of power tools and building supplies, worth just over $2000, during an incident in the early hours of March 17 this year.
The court heard Kuol found the trolley in a laneway off Knight St in Shepparton, with CCTV footage capturing him pushing the trolley through a car park in town and later leaving the scene on a bicycle with two boxes on the handlebars, believed to be filled with the stolen goods.
The court was told Kuol was arrested and interviewed at Shepparton Police Station where he denied all allegations.
Mr McNamara said Kuol was also involved in the theft of items on two previous occasions.
The court heard the accused stole $1100 worth of items, including a worksite light, charger and battery, from a ute parked in Shepparton.
He was arrested, interviewed, and bailed, telling police he stole the tools from the back of the ute because he needed to fix a door.
Mr McNamara said Kuol and a co-accused also stole $960 worth of stock from Kmart in Shepparton.
The man's barrister Markorius Habib said his client had spent two weeks at a Melbourne assessment prison under full lockdown for 23 hours a day due to the current coronavirus situation.
Mr Habib argued the punitive element of the offending had already been met through the 27 days Kuol had spent in custody.
The court was told Kuol had been abusing methylamphetamine on a weekly basis during the time of his offending, with Mr Habib saying his client planned to "avoid using ice".
Magistrate Peter Mithen urged Kuol to overcome his drug addiction, telling the accused he must do so to stay out of jail.
“I have never had anyone come in here and tell me how ice has helped them — I implore you to get off it and stay off it,” he said.
“I don't want to see you back here ruining your life.”
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