A tradie who had his ute and tools stolen by a man who also robbed a pharmacy while armed with a nail gun fears the "lowlife" will "ruin someone else's life", a court has heard.
The victim also claimed he was unable to work after losing the tools, and was struggling to put food on the table for his family.
Kiran James Eichmann, of no fixed address, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday.
The 32-year-old has pleaded guilty to eight charges including stealing a motor vehicle, two counts each of joint commission minor theft, damage property, and obtaining property by deception.
He has also pleaded guilty to seven other charges before the ACT Supreme Court. These include aggravated robbery, possessing an offensive weapon and failing to stop for police.
Police facts tendered to the court state that on May 21, 2022, the victim parked his Ford Ranger outside the Hyatt Hotel.
The next morning, the man discovered the ute, which had two ladders mounted to the roof with his mobile number on them, was missing.
Later that day, closed circuit cameras recorded the stolen ute crash into a roller door at a Braddon apartment complex.
Eichmann was later identified in the video footage by police, who found the stolen vehicle in a nearby building in Braddon.
When officers stopped to speak with Eichmann, who was located near the stolen ute, the man ran from police and smashed through a glass door leaving a baseball cap behind.
In an impact statement read to the court on Monday, the victim said the theft had "enormous repercussions".
The self-employed contractor claimed he could not work after the theft and was struggling to put food on the table for his family.
The victim said he had a "mental breakdown" and started drinking again after being 14-months sober.
He said he worried Eichmann would get "a slap on the wrist" and had a "fear of some lowlife doing this again and being let out [of jail] to ruin someone else's life".
"I hope this person learns a lesson."
Eichmann's lawyer, Ana Qvist, said her client had already spent more than 11 months in custody.
Ms Qvist argued for a sentence which would allow Eichmann to address his drug addiction.
She said drug-use was Eichmann's "main criminogenic driving factor" and his "poor decisions" were "motivated by his addiction".
About two months after the ute theft, Eichmann and co-offender Grace Emily Larkham robbed Capital Chemist in O'Connor.
Larkham was wearing a balaclava and wielding a syringe filled with "a blood-like liquid substance".
Eichmann brandished a hammer and a nail gun while also hiding under a face covering.
The pair stole prescription medication and a cash register before escaping in a stolen car.
Police chased the vehicle along the Monaro Highway for 20 minutes as the driver, Eichmann, refused to stop.
By the time the pursuit eventually ended all four of the stolen car's tyres had disintegrated after police deployed devices to deflate them.
Larkham was sentenced to an intensive correction order of more than two years and two months in March 2023 for her crimes.
Eichmann and Larkham had also stolen almost $2000 worth of coats and puffer jackets from Anaconda in Fyshwick a few weeks before the robbery.
Eichmann is set to face court again in July.
