James Darren Weidig, 25, of Culburra Beach has been jailed for three years after pleading guilty in Nowra Local Court to a variety of offences including dishonestly obtaining property by deception, attempting to obtain property by deception, larceny, breaking and entering, entering enclosed lands, driving without a licence and possessing a prohibited drug,

Court papers said the 91-year-old Currarong woman, who attends church at Callala Bay, answered her minister’s plea in May for someone to take in a man who was “homeless” at the time.

The woman volunteered to allow Weidig to stay in her home for a short period of time until he could find accommodation.

Court papers said on May 14, Weidig offered to make dinner but needed groceries.

The victim agreed to accompany Weidig to the local store but was so shocked by his driving she was unable to get out of the vehicle.

The court heard the woman gave Weidig her credit card to buy the necessary items but he returned empty handed.

The woman said she was still in shock.

Weidig instead drove to the Currarong Bowling Club where he was captured on CCTV using the card to withdraw $1000 cash from the ATM.

He also attempted to withdraw another $200 in a separate transaction but there was insufficient funds in the account.

He returned to the car and drove the woman home, gathered his possessions and left.

It wasn’t until the next day the woman discovered the missing money and reported the incident to police.

Police said Weidig returned to the Currarong club around 6pm the following day.

He told an employee, who was known to him, that he had had won $1100 on one of the club’s poker machines.

Acting in good faith the staff member removed $1100 and as they approached the machine to verify the win, Weidig grabbed the money and ran off.

The whole incident was also captured on CCTV.

He was arrested by police two days later in an amenities block at the Currarong Beachside Caravan Park.

Police found Weidig in one of the cubicles and arrested him.

Officers noticed him trying to put something into his underpants and discovered a strip of the prohibited drug Buprenorphine.

During an interview he made full admissions about taking the woman’s money, saying he had been too embarrassed to return and he had robbed the bowling club because he needed the money.

He was also charged with breaking into the Culburra Beach Baptist Church between April 11-13 this year.

Court papers said Weidig smashed a sliding window to enter the building but didn't take anything. Fingerprints left at the scene were used to identify him as the offender.

He was also charged with two counts of making a false or misleading statement and two counts of having goods suspected of being stolen after selling a Hewlett Packard laptop and Samsung Galaxy tablet, which were not his, to the Nowra Pawnbrokers.

They were among items taken from a break-in at a home in Culburra Beach late last year.

He also pleaded guilty to affray following an incident at the Australian Hotel in Nowra last December in which two men were injured.

Magistrate Gabriel Fleming sentenced Weidig to three years’ jail with a non parole period of 15 months.

He was also fined $850.