AN ARMIDALE man has signalled he will fight charges that he broke into aged care homes and a pharmacy.
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Kenneth Pitt, 24, waived his right to a committal hearing and will head straight to trial on five separate offences of aggravated breaking and entering in company, stemming from the alleged crime spree across Guyra, Armidale, Uralla and Bundarra in 2013.
Pitt, who is being housed at Goulburn Correctional Centre, was charged by New England detectives earlier this year after they allegedly traced his DNA to the scene.
As part of the crown case, detectives will allege that evidence identifying Pitt was found on a sock at one of the crime scenes, as well as a Coke bottle and footprint.
If convicted, the charges carry a standard non-parole period of five years.
DPP solicitor Peter Woods withdrew two charges, and the case will head to court in October to find a trial date.
The trial will centre on a break-in at a Guyra Pharmacy in May last year, along with an aged-care lodge in Armidale, a general store in Bundarra, a connected business in the town and a retirement home in Uralla.
Earlier this month, Pitt tried unsuccessfully to be released on bail while the case progressed through the courts, but Magistrate Karen Stafford said there was an unacceptable risk he would fail to appear at court.
He will remain behind bars ahead of the trial.