Penticton man keeps his job with intermittent sentence handed down for theft, breach

PENTICTON – A Penticton man struggling with addiction issues will serve a 45-day intermittent jail sentence for breach and his part in theft of goods from an auto parts supplier.

Jeremy David James Roberts appeared in a Penticton courtroom Monday, April 11 to be sentenced after entering guilty pleas on possession of stolen property under $5,000, breach, and possessing break in instruments.

Roberts’ problems with the law began Oct. 9, 2015, when a Lordco auto parts store employee spotted Roberts and a woman pushing a baby cart through the Penticton Lordco store.

Suspicious, he followed them after they left the store to the Canadian Tire parking lot down the street where he observed them removing packaging material from an item taken from the store.

Police were called and an LED flashlight, two drills and a “bore scope” camera was found under a red blanket in the stroller. The items were returned to the store.

Roberts was charged and released on a promise to appear, with one condition being not to associate with his female partner in the shoplifting incident.

On Jan. 20, 2016, police saw a man and woman walking down a Penticton street late at night in an area where a number of thefts had occurred. The two wore dark clothing, the man carrying a backpack. The man was identified as Roberts and his backpack was searched, revealing box cutters, pry bars, cutters, and a magnetic device for extracting coins from vending machines.

Crown Prosecutor Ann Lerchs asked Judge Gale Sinclair for a 45-day sentence followed by one year of probation, noting Roberts’ previous record of thefts and breaches.

Defence lawyer Kathryn Lundman said her 42-year-old client suffered from addiction issues, explaining he had been out with break and enter tools the night police saw him because he couldn’t sleep and had decided to check out dumpsters.

She said her client worked two jobs and hoped for an intermittent sentence or house arrest to allow him to continue working.

“It seems once a year things (you) get off the rails,” Judge Sinclair said to Roberts, adding it was, “time a little jail term happened here.”

Roberts received 15 days on each of three counts on an intermittent jail term to begin Friday, followed by a year’s probation. He’s to stay away from his female accomplice, not possess any break and enter tools and stay clear of alcohol and drugs.

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