Corey James Hall appeals sentence for stealing $6300 from his Tamworth employer

Corey James Hall successfully appealed the severity of his total sentence in Tamworth District Court for six counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

The 28-year-old must still pay back the $6300 he stole from BOC Gas and Gear in Taminda during a "long weekend" in April, last year.

During the hearing, Hall appeared by video link from Tamworth Correctional Centre, and told the court he stole the money to fund his addiction to the drug ice.

"I'd do anything and everything to, sort of, have that ice because I needed it," he said.

"I take responsibility for doing it, but I don't think I would have done it if I wasn't on it."

He said he had enjoyed his job at the store and was ashamed at his actions, and would prioritise paying the money back.

The court heard details of his traumatic background, and Hall said he was committed to going to a rehabilitation facility when he was released.

"I'm not doing it for a court order, I'm doing it for myself, I don't like this life," he said.

"If it's not done, I probably will end up back in the courts again."

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He gave evidence that he hadn't been to rehab before because "trying to break that cycle out there in the real world" was difficult.

Legal Aid defence solicitor Wendy McAuliffe told the court the offending happened "over a long weekend", but conceded the amount of money taken would have had an impact on a small regional business.

She asked Judge Andrew Coleman to consider Hall's subjective factors, his shame, and his commitment to getting help.

Judge Coleman said the offending was serious and involved a "gross breach of trust by an employee stealing from his employer".

"He did that in a way that it was obvious he was going to be caught," he said.

Hall was on good behaviour orders at the time.

Judge Coleman found special circumstances in the case, and said that while Hall would "do anything" to buy drugs at the time, his addiction was not his personal choice.

In the local court in March, Hall was handed a three-month prison term for each of the six charges, with a total sentence of 12 months, with seven months non-parole.

Judge Coleman adjusted the overall sentence to eight months behind bars, with four months non-parole.

With time served, Hall became eligible for release in April this year, but the court heard he remained bail refused in a separate matter.

Hall was charged after investigations revealed he had "refunded himself" a total of $6300 from BOC Gas and Gear Tamworth across six transactions in about one week, ranging from $350 to $1950.

Judge Coleman did not alter the compensation order that was made in the local court.

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