A 61-year-old Shuswap man who stole 100 bottles of liquor from his local supermarket will have to do 10 hours of community service after a BC judge told him it was a rather stupid thing to do.

“He was a local, and this was his supermarket,” Judge David Patterson told Matthew Scott Dick at the Salmon Arm courthouse Dec. 23. “You don’t hit the place where you’re a regular.”

The court heard how Dick, along with his co-accused Elizabeth Ann Frazier, arrived at the Malakwa Supermarket in his Ford F-150 at 3:30 a.m. and tied a chain to its front doors.

Dick, with his face covered by a mask, then tied a chain to his truck and put his foot down, successfully ripping off the doors.

The couple then went inside and loaded up with upwards of 100 bottles of liquor and some food. The whole operation took less than 10 minutes.

However, when police and the supermarket owners reviewed the security camera footage, they instantly recognized Dick and Frazier because they are both regular customers.

He was arrested the next day when police spotted his truck.

Dick immediately cooperated with the police, taking them back to his house and showing them where he’d buried 50 bottles in his backyard.

Judge Patterson said that every business now has high-definition CCTV, and the break-in was a “stupid” thing to do.

The court heard how the 61-year-old did have a criminal record for several break-and-enters, but his last offence was in 1982, more than 40 years ago.

However, his wife of more than 30 years had died 18 months previously, and it had had a devastating effect.

“He got in with the wrong crowd and started using crack for the first time in his life,” defence lawyer Ignatius Pielecki told the court.

Some of the liquor he’d swapped for drugs.

There was no price point given for the damage caused or the stolen liquor, but even a conservative estimate would put the liquor at $3,000 minimum, and it was likely worth much more. The supermarket hadn’t given a price on the stolen booze or the damage, and the judge said he didn’t want to order Dick to pay them back if he didn’t know the amount.

In a joint submission to the judge, Crown prosecutor Jason McNiven and Pielecki asked for 10 hours of community service and 18 months of probation.

Judge Patterson agreed.

“There was planning involved, but it wasn’t sophisticated in any way, shape or form,” the Judge said. “Having looked at the reality of your life, the stupidity of this offence, (and) also treating it like a first offence that was motivated by a lack of cash. And this was a simple way.”

The judge said he would like to order more than 10 hours of community service, but in keeping with following a joint submission, he would allow it.

“Now, I suspect that the stigma of this particular offence will follow you in Malakwa,” Judge Patterson said. “People are gonna know the stupidity that you did on that day. They’re gonna know it was criminal and they’re gonna know you got a criminal conviction for it. Some people might wonder why you’re not in jail,” the Judge said. “Some people are gonna wonder why you’re not paying back the supermarket. Some people are gonna wonder why you’re only gonna be doing 10 hours of community work service. Those are all valid questions.”

The Judge ended by saying it had been 43 years since Dick had last been in a courtroom.

“Let’s do another 43 and a half years,” the judge said.

Frazier is scheduled to plead guilty to her part in the robbery in January.