WESTLOCK – A Westlock man involved in an “unsophisticated” five-month crime spree faces more than $1,000 in fines and a 16-month conditional sentence order.
Appearing in Westlock Provincial Court March 2 via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, Nicholas Pelletier entered 11 guilty pleas to charges spread over nine different files including three counts of failing to comply with an undertaking, two shoplifting under $5,000 charges and two counts of failing to comply with release order conditions. He also pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000, theft under $5,000, mischief under $5,000 and possession of stolen property under $5,000. Thirteen other charges ranging from possession of a stolen credit card to fraud under $5,000 were withdrawn.
Judge Bruce Garriock agreed to the joint-sentence submission from Crown prosecutor Alison Moore and defence lawyer Richard Forbes that includes a 16-month conditional sentence order, two actual days in jail and $1,300 in fines that’ll be paid back via $50 monthly installments — the order also includes probation and a host of conditions Pelletier must abide by. Moore noted Pelletier’s IQ is somewhere between 70 and 80 and “is something we’ve taken in account when fashioning our sentencing submission” as an average IQ score is between 85 and 115.
Forbes confirmed that Pelletier, who previously had a clean criminal record, suffers from “severe cogitative difficulties” and his only means of support is via the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program.
“He struggled through high school and after turning 18 he left home and entered very precarious housing accommodations in the Westlock area … he was couch surfing and his cognitive difficulties were not improved at all by beginning to use drugs, particularly meth amphetamine,” said Forbes. “I would call these acts very unsophisticated and an indication of his mental ability and addiction to drugs.”
Going forward Forbes said Pelletier wants help and is hopeful the probation order as part of this “rehabilitative-focused sentence” will provide that.
“It’s our hope that through probation and now that there’s a formal order, it can get him lined up with drug treatment and mental-health treatment,” said Forbes, noting they waived the need for a Gladue Report. “Speaking to his father there were plans when he turned 18 to have him live in a group home and that plan is still in the works, but it was put on hold as his struggles increased.”
Moore detailed Pelletier’s crimes which were scattered from mid-October 2021 up until his arrest Feb. 28 when video footage caught him on a property he was barred from being on.
During the spree Pelletier pinched a 26-ounce bottle of rye from a liquor store, stole an axe and propane torch kit from a hardware store by stuffing them down his pants and walked off with tools and transmitters valued at more than $5,000 from the back of a truck. Other crimes of note saw him ride off with a BMX bicycle, use someone else’s credit cards and steal a Christmas light projector from someone’s lawn, as well as numerous missed curfew checks and being in locations he was barred from.
“I also view as mitigating the quite severe cognitive difficulties experienced by Mr. Pelletier, which together with drug use certainly explains where we’re at today and why we’re here,” said Judge Garriock during sentencing.
