Man broke into Shepparton bank in the middle of the night

Prosecutor Ibrahim Abdalla told the court police were called to the National Australia Bank in Wyndham St, Shepparton, at 1.55am on June 12 last year to reports of a burglary in progress.

They found Welch inside with 10 laptop computers and bank documents in a bag.

Cupboards and drawers were open and Welch had strewn the contents everywhere, Mr Abdalla said.

Welch appeared highly substance affected and told police “I just walked into a bank and decided to take s***”, Mr Abdalla said.

The court was also told Welch failed to appear in court on February 28.

Welch’s solicitor Ian Michaelson told the court his client had been sentenced to seven months in prison on August 25 last year but this charge had been left out of the consolidation of charges then when it should have been included.

“I assume the lawyer on the day was unaware of this (the burglary charge),” Mr Michaelson said.

He argued that if this charge was known about in August it would have been included in the seven-month jail sentence he was given then, and for that reason he asked for a deferred sentence or a good behaviour bond.

Mr Michaelson said Welch had a “long history with alcohol and drugs” and was “highly substance affected on the night”.

However, he said he was now working as a labourer.

Magistrate Marita Altman deferred sentencing Welch until October.