A young woman was given a final chance and a conditional discharge for her part in the theft of a van earlier this year.
Louisa Simpson pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of stolen property before Judge J.D. Holmes at Alberta Provincial Court in Stettler on Wednesday, July 28.
The court heard that in March, Const. Matt Fifield of the Stettler RCMP detachment attended the FasGas station on Highway 12. A silver van was the only vehicle in the lot at the time.
According to Crown Attorney Bruce Ritter, Fifield saw a man wanted on outstanding warrants within the gas station convenience store. A young woman, later identified as Simpson, exited the building and headed for the van. When questioned by police, it was revealed she was also sought on a warrant and was arrested.
The Crown said that police found on Simpson the keys for the van, which had been stolen from Drayton Valley. She was cooperative with police, and admitted to having used the stolen van. She told police that she was tired of having nowhere to live.
Police found Simpson’s possessions in the van, backing up her story that she was using it as a living space, as she was at the time homeless.
While Simpson does have a prior record, the convictions occurred after her arrest in this particular incident, the Crown noted, though the crimes for which the convictions were issued happened before. Simpson was given a conditional discharge in that case.
Simpson’s counsel noted that since her arrest, Simpson has spent four months in jail, has stopped taking drugs, and has found a place to live. She is making plans to return to school in the fall and complete her education. These were steps she took on her own, her counsel noted, not on order from the courts.
Given that Simpson is cleaning up her life, both the Crown and Simpson’s counsel jointly applied for a conditional discharge, which means after a period of successful probation, the conviction will not appear on Simpson’s record.
Judge Holmes was inclined to grant the discharge, but he had concerns about the conditions, which allowed her to maintain contact with the individual she was seen with at FasGas. The conditions, as presented by Crown and defence, were amended to allow the probation officer to issue a no contact clause to the conditions, in writing, should he or she deem it necessary.
Simpson is further required to keep the peace and be of good conduct, have no contact with the owner of the van except to write a letter of apology for the theft, report to her probation officer on a regular basis, abstain from contact with individuals as written by her probation officer, and complete any assessments or programs deemed necessary by the probation officer.
Simpson, who said she was, “very sorry for stealing the van,” promised “it won’t happen again.”
Judge Holmes waived the victim surcharge for Simpson, but warned her that if she appears before the courts again, she won’t receive such a lenient sentence.
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