He also pleaded guilty to a summary charge of committing an indictable offence while on bail.
The court heard Heffernan broke into and stole a bar fridge and dishwasher from a home under construction on Halpin Cres, Shepparton on December 29, 2023.
Heffernan’s co-offender also stole a range of kitchen appliances and supplies.
The court also heard police found seven bottles containing a total 2.341 litres of 1,4-butanediol inside a shed at Heffernan’s Shepparton home while executing a search warrant on January 15, 2024.
The drug 1,4-butanediol is a chemical that’s converted to GHB — a recreational drug with euphoric and sedative effects — in the body once ingested.
Police found evidence of drug trafficking on Heffernan’s phone, including tick sheets and messages between November 29, 2023 and January 15, 2024 from himself to a seller.
A box containing empty plastic bottles of 1,4-butanediol addressed to a different co-offender were also found.
The court heard police also found items that had been stolen from Halpin Cres, including power tools, an air conditioner, fireplace and pressure washer, along with a washing machine, bar fridge and dishwasher.
In sentencing Heffernan, Judge Robyn Harper said Heffernan’s offences were “not victimless crimes”.
“You displaced their sense of security,” she said.
Judge Harper said Heffernan trafficking 1,4-butanediol was “particularly serious”, even though the amount was “just over the commercial quantity”.
She noted Heffernan’s offending occurred after he’d lost his job, and he’d accepted responsibility for it.
Judge Harper acknowledged Heffernan began drinking and using drugs during his teenage years, and had been exposed to alcohol during his childhood.
She also noted Heffernan had been diagnosed with ADHD and faced difficulties in the education system.
Judge Harper told Heffernan he’d “productively used your time in custody” by trying to connect to his culture and participating in programs.
She said he’d “fully engaged” and shown genuine participation in the Koori Court sentencing conversation with Aboriginal Elders, who encouraged him to continue connecting to culture.
Heffernan was sentenced to three years in prison, and will have to serve one year and 10 months before becoming eligible for parole.
The 501 days he has spent in pre-sentence detention will count as time already served.
Judge Harper encouraged Heffernan to participate in programs and counselling upon his release, and said his prospects of rehabilitation were good if he engaged with supports.
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