WESTLOCK – A Swan Hills man who bought tools and equipment through his employer, then re-sold them and kept the cash to fuel his drug addiction, will repay some of what he pilfered and serve a 12-month conditional sentence order (CSO) that includes six months of 24-hour-a-day house arrest.
In Westlock Court of Justice July 11, Ronald Reed Pengelly reconfirmed his guilty plea to fraud over $5,000, a plea he had previously made in Barrhead Provincial Court Dec. 13, 2022, with sentencing delayed for completion of a pre-sentence report (PSR).
Justice Bruce Garriock agreed to the joint-sentence submission from Crown prosecutor Ashlee Kirby and defence lawyer Gary Smith for the CSO which includes half-a-year of 24-hour-a-day house arrest, followed by six months under an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. In addition to having to undergo drug and alcohol counselling for the next year, Pengelly will repay $5,069 to MRC Global Incorporated by July 12, 2024, while charges of failing to attend court and fraud under $5,000 were withdrawn by Kirby.
Noting a “positive” PSR and a “limited and dated criminal record”, Kirby said the sentence was appropriate as Pengelly doesn’t “pose a risk to the public” and that he “admitted to the fraud when he was initially confronted by his employer.”
“I’m satisfied that serving this sentence in the community will not endanger the safety of the community,” said Justice Garriock, who also ordered Pengelly to pay a $200 victim-fine surcharge.
Smith, noting Pengelly has expressed remorse and shame for the crime and will be living with his mother in Swan Hills while serving the CSO, said an addiction to cocaine “spiralled out of control” and led to the theft.
“This is an appropriate sentence. He is remorseful, he’s agreed to pay restitution and was co-operative, very co-operative in the investigation,” said Smith. “This offence itself was fueled by an addiction to cocaine which is a very serious and addictive drug to get involved with. The conditional sentence will assist and provide him with structure and the tools to deal with the addiction issue that he’s dealt with over the years.”
Addressing Justice Garriock directly, Pengelly said he made “a big mistake” as he “loved that job.”
“I look forward to the next year now to get better,” said Pengelly.
The crime
Although no details of the crime were read into the record, past reporting of his Dec. 13, 2022, court appearance states that on Nov. 20, 2019, Swan Hills RCMP were called about a large-scale theft from a local company.
A company representative told police that Pengelly had been making fraudulent purchase orders through the company for equipment like tools, saws, lawnmowers and pressure washers and then selling the items via a local Facebook buy and sell page.
Crown prosecutor Anthony Estephan told court that the purchases were made over a five-month period through legitimate vendors set up through the company’s purchasing system and went unnoticed until the company finally started receiving unpaid invoices.
The police investigation also determined that Pengelly made sales to people in Swan Hills who genuinely thought they were legitimately buying goods from the company he worked for.
“They received said goods as made out on a purchase order provided by Mr. Pengelly, only to find out these items were now considered stolen property,” Estephan said.
Estephan said the total value of the fraudulent sales orders made by Pengelly using his business account amounted to $39,800, however, the Crown could only prove he defrauded the company out of $5,069.
