'Warm socks': Homeless shoplifter tells judge what he needs to stay out of trouble

On paper, it might look like a 50-year-old repeat shoplifter, living between prison and the streets, stealing bulk resellable items with a meth pipe in his pocket, was stealing to feed his addiction. 

But Joel Duzevich tried to tell a judge there were bigger factors at play, and that he took meat, eggs, chocolate and alcohol from five major retailers because he was homeless. 

At his sentencing this month, Judge Kate Davenport, KC, said she understood the “difficult position” Duzevich was in, sleeping rough, but he was ignoring the help available to him. 

What did he think it would take to survive in the community and not steal, she asked, other than “getting warm socks”, as he had written in his prison-release plan. 

That’s when a worker from health organisation Te Hā Oranga stood up, telling the court that, while Duzevich was behind bars, her team was working to find alcohol or drug programmes for him, as well as a “stable and safe” place to live when he gets out. 

Te Hā Oranga general manager Frana Botica later told NZME that its Te Ara Whakahokia service helped people reintegrate into the community after prison and not reoffend. 

She said finding homes for such people was one of its “biggest challenges”, but it was trying to overcome that by slowly strengthening ties with housing providers. 

According to the summary of facts, Duzevich went to a Super Liquor in Avondale, West Auckland, in June and stole a $50 bottle of rum. 

A couple of days later, he stole $50 worth of drinks from Woolworths St Lukes, and a $360 women’s leather jacket from a Farmers two days after that. 

Then he went to Woolworths in Point Chevalier and put meat, eggs and alcohol into his backpack, together worth about $150. A few days later, he went into another Woolworths on the North Shore, stealing $290 of meat and chocolate. 

Three months earlier, he was found in a car taken from a burglary in Kingsland, Auckland, which had a stolen number plate attached to the back. 

The cops that caught him 

Sergeant Shane Bainbridge told NZME that he was at the North Shore Woolworths with the Waitematā East beat team, which he supervises, on an unrelated matter when he learned about the theft. 

He said police were able to pull up the shoplifter’s number plate on CCTV. 

While they were there, they heard from a separate police response team, which was watching a “well-known address”. It gave details over the police radio of a car leaving the house. 

Police “put two and two together”, Bainbridge said. Officers watching the house stopped the car and arrested Duzevich, who was in it. 

“We were able to match that person to the footage that we were watching, basically in live, real time.” 

For Bainbridge’s team, shoplifting prevention was about having a more visible presence in their area, and helping victims, particularly the more vulnerable, smaller businesses, safeguard against theft. 

It was also about the thieves, he said. Police generally targeted repeat offenders and those stealing to onsell, rather than to feed themselves. 

“We still deal with the one-offs and the two-offs, but we might take a different approach to them as far as how we deal with them afterwards.” 

Their work was about understanding what drove shoplifters to steal. 

“Is it just a hard time in their life and they’ve made a mistake, or is it to feed addiction, or is it to make money?” 

There were many different reasons, he said. 

Acting inspector Caroline Miles, the Waitematā East prevention manager, chimed in that how the thieves were dealt with was therefore “subjective”. 

Joel Duzevich in the Auckland District Court on this week and his lawyer Matthew Timmins. Photo / Dean Purcell 

History of mental illness 

In Auckland District Court last month, Duzevich’s lawyer, Matthew Timmins, said his client had a history of mental illness, for which he was untreated and therefore vulnerable. 

A court mental health nurse countered, however, that Duzevich had his illness treated regularly by his GP since 2024, as well as by the prison medical team when in custody. 

What the judge called some of Duzevich’s “nonsensical statements” in a Corrections report before the court were the residual symptoms of a head injury, the nurse said. 

Judge Davenport said it was “really good” that Duzevich had made some “positive steps” towards addressing some of the reasons for his offending. 

She said his post-release plan looked sensible, and included “getting warm socks”, which was always important. 

Duzevich needed help, particularly with finding somewhere to go once he was released, she said. 

She accepted that some of the items he stole might have been to feed himself, but others were taken to sell in exchange for drugs and alcohol. 

Meth or homelessness? 

She noted the methamphetamine pipe found in his pocket when he was arrested. 

“[It] appears to be an ongoing problem for you, doesn’t it?” 

“Yes,” Duzevich replied from the dock. 

“It’s an evil drug, meth. Once it gets its claws in you, it’s hard to get them out,” the judge continued. 

“It wasn’t meth, your honour,” Duzevich interjected. “It was because I was homeless.” 

Judge Davenport accepted his explanation, but also pointed out that he was on post-release conditions and had the support of probation services and Corrections at the time of the thefts. 

“Engaging with the probation service is not a punishment; it’s trying to help you,” she said. 

She noted that shoplifting wasn’t a victimless crime, and made supermarkets increase their prices, which had an effect on the community. 

She also pointed out that Duzevich had 20 clocked up offences since 2021 and had been in and out of prison for five years. 

“You’re 50 years of age now. I think it’s time you aged yourself out of the prison system and [did] ... something more positive with your life.” 

Duzevich needed rehabilitation, help and support, she said. 

“We all need rehab in some way, I know that,” Duzevich said from the dock. 

She reduced his sentence for his guilty plea, addiction, personal circumstances and attempts to rehabilitate himself. She raised it for his criminal history. 

For being in the stolen car, failing to report to probation in June, possessing the glass pipe and five counts of shoplifting, she sentenced him to 10 months in prison. 

Because he had been in custody for three and a half months, that left about six weeks before he could be released, the court heard. Timmins said that was a good amount of time for Te Hā Oranga to find his client somewhere to live. 

Judge Davenport also ordered Duzevich to pay back $400 of what he stole, at a rate of $10 a week, once he was out of prison and receiving a Work and Income benefit. 

“I don’t want to set him up to fail.” 

DRUG SAFETY 

Where to get help:

• 0800 METH HELP (0800 6384 4357)
• Alcohol Drug Helpline (Phone 0800 787 797 or text 8681)
• They also have a Māori line on 0800 787 798 and a Pasifika line on 0800 787 799
• How to stay safer if you're using drugs: The Level
• Where to get your drugs checked: Drug checking clinics

Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting. She’s currently based in Auckland covering justice-related stories.