A Ravenswood man was out on bail when he was caught rifling through a woman's wardrobe less than eight weeks after he was released from jail, a court has heard.
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The woman had been out with family when she returned to her home to find Ricky Damien Brown, 35, in her bedroom at 5.20pm on December 27 last year.
After the frightening confrontation, the woman went back outside and told her husband and adult son what she had seen.
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The son went inside and saw Brown jump out a bathroom window.
Brown was chased to a nearby property where the woman's son and husband searched him and found items missing from the family's home.
The woman's husband took a photo of Brown before he ran away and was arrested at a Coles supermarket in Newstead.
Brown appeared in Launceston Magistrates Court on Monday when he pleaded guilty to one count aggravated burglary and multiple stealing charges.
The court heard Brown got out of jail in early November and a short time later he was breaking into businesses.
On November 10 at 1.32am, Brown and another man smashed a window to get into a Woolworths store at New Town where they stole cash registers and cigarettes. Brown's DNA was later found at the scene.
At 1.07am on November 26 Brown took a Guide Dogs donation container from the Norwood IGA, which he broke into and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to.
About four hours later he broke into the Hill Street Grocer at Longford where he stole 150 packets of cigarettes, which were later found at a Ravenswood address.
Despite the thefts in November and his only recent release from prison, Brown was given bail in court.
Bail was only refused after Brown was caught stealing from the woman's bedroom on December 27.
Lawyer Hannah Phillips said Brown's record was not a great one, but he needed help with a drug problem.
"He turned to crime pretty quickly after getting out last time because of his underlying issue with illicit substances," Ms Phillips said.
Brown had tried to get into a program to beat drug addiction, but there were no spots available in it, Ms Phillips said.
Magistrate Sharon Cure ordered a pre-sentencing report and set March 12 as the sentencing date.
