Cameron Jade Anson sentenced after West Tamworth break-in

Cameron Jade Anson appeared in Tamworth District Court when he said he had no "malicious intent" when he broke into a home on Church Street to help a friend collect alcohol he'd left at the house.

While reading a letter he had written to the woman who was inside the West Tamworth home at the time of the aggravated break-in, Anson said he was "extremely remorseful" for any distress he caused.

"It is not in my character to cause harm to others," he read from the witness box.

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"I do not expect your forgiveness, but please know I write this with the uttermost sincerity."

The 26-year-old was charged with one count of aggravated break-and-enter with intent while in company but not steal; and stalk or intimidate with intent to cause fear after breaking into the Church Street home in the late hours of June 25, 2022.

The court heard Anson and a co-accused - who remains before the courts - went to the home to retrieve alcohol that belonged to the co-accused who had been drinking at the home prior to the offending.

When the pair arrived at the home, a woman told them a man who the co-accused had previously been drinking with was no longer at the house.

The co-accused started yelling for the man to come outside before the pair broke into the home and yelled at the woman.

The court heard Anson, who had drunk a significant amount of bourbon, approached the victim, kicked out towards her dog, and demanded to know where the man was.

Anson called the woman a "stupid b****" and threatened to stab her dog before walking towards the bedroom of a child, who was home at the time.

The victim yelled at Anson to stay away from the room, and the co-accused stopped and pulled him away from the child's bedroom.

Judge Andrew Coleman said the woman was "distraught and upset" in a space where she was "entitled to feel safe".

He said Anson did not immediately leave the home after he found out the man wasn't there, and a child was asleep in the bedroom.

In court, Anson said he imagined the woman would have felt "extremely scared" and "worried".

The court heard Anson, who has been on strict bail conditions since the break-in, had vandalised a toilet block while he was meant to be abiding by a good behaviour condition.

Anson told the court he had experienced a tough upbringing, was "embarrassed" to invite friends over as a kid, and had been diagnosed with a number of health problems.

He said he was interested in continuing rehabilitation and enrolling into an art course.

Judge Coleman took into account Anson's circumstances as a child, and the progress he had already made by engaging in weekly rehabilitation.

"He's a young man who has a difficult background," Judge Coleman said.

He said an appropriate punishment for Anson would be one that helped him get back on the "straight and narrow".

Judge Coleman convicted Anson and sentenced him to a two-year term of imprisonment, to be supervised and served in the community in an intensive corrections order, or ICO.

The 26-year-old was ordered to abstain from any drugs unless prescribed, and participate in rehabilitation programs or treatment.

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