Man who stole and damaged 18 plaques honouring Canadian war heroes sent to jail

EDMONTON – An Edmonton man convicted of stealing memorial plaques that honour Canadian war heroes is going to jail.

Romelo Woolf has been sentenced to 11 months and fined more than $22,000.

He stole the 18 plaques last summer for scrap from a neighbourhood that is located on land that used to be an army base.

Some of the plaques recounted stories of soldiers from Alberta who were awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for gallantry.

Another told the story of the Second World War battle of Ortona, a brutal fight for a town in Italy that cost Canada more than 2,300 casualties, including troops from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.

The plaques were sold to a scrap metal dealer who called police after seeing reports about the thefts, but nearly all were too damaged to be used again. (CTV Edmonton, The Canadian Press)