WESTLOCK – A 31-year-old Westlock man caught last fall with close to 40 grams of meth, an improperly stored shotgun and a slew of stolen documents received an 11-month jail sentence, time deemed served by the 219 days he’s actually spent behind bars.
Appearing in Westlock Provincial Court April 27 via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, Brendyn Donald Roger Beaulieu pleaded guilty to seven counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, careless use of a firearm, identity theft (402.2 [1] of the Criminal Code), identity fraud (403.2 [1]) and theft of identity documents (56.1).
Judge Karl Wilberg agreed to a joint-sentence submission for 330 days in jail, a sentence now considered served by the 219 actual days (credited at 1.5) Beaulieu’s been at the ERC — Beaulieu also has to submit a sample of his DNA to police within five days of his release and has been banned from owning weapons for 10 years. Five additional identity-theft related charges, four drug trafficking counts and single charges of unauthorized possession of a firearm, careless use of a firearm, theft of a motor vehicle, theft under $5,000 and failing to comply with release conditions were withdrawn.
Both Crown prosecutor Alison Moore and federal Crown prosecutor Erwin Schulz noted Beaulieu’s “lengthy” and “consistent” record in regard to fraud and property crimes but said this was the first time he’s been convicted of a drug offence. Defence lawyer Richard Forbes said Beaulieu, who’s Métis and moved from Ontario to Alberta in 2012, had his first taste of alcohol at the age of 10 and entered his first drug and alcohol treatment program when he was 14.
“Drugs and drug abuse were present in the homes that he grew up in as was domestic violence,” said Forbes, adding that Beaulieu has been diagnosed with leukemia and intends to turn his life around to be a better father to his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Forbes, noting a number of pre-trial conferences between himself and the Crown, said that if the case would have gone to trial there were over 300 exhibits collected during a pair of police searches — aside from Beaulieu’s wallet and two cellphones, everything else collected by the RCMP during those raids has been forfeited.
“I just want to get back on track and need to be there for my daughter … I know that now,” Beaulieu told Judge Wilberg. “I need to get my health in check as I’ve been dealing with this blood cancer since 2018. It’s been a struggle and I don’t want to struggle anymore. I’m trying to do better and I’m going to do better this time.”
Moore told court that on Sept. 16, 2021, Beaulieu took a 2005 Pontiac Sunfire to Brown’s Chrysler for servicing. Moore said staff knew Beaulieu as ‘Brent Donald’ but he told them his name was actually ‘Jaden Rasmussen’ and that Donald was his uncle.
Beaulieu then returned the following day for more work on the car and got a loaner — when he returned Sept. 18 the loaner vehicle had been damaged.
“Staff then became suspicious and searched Facebook and found the real Jaden Rasmussen, who didn’t know anything about any work on the Sunfire, didn’t own a Sunfire and had had his operator’s licence stolen from his vehicle in either April or May 2021,” said Moore, adding that when Beaulieu returned to the dealership Sept. 20, he was arrested by RCMP.
Schulz said following that arrest, RCMP executed a Sept. 22 search warrant on Beaulieu’s home in Westlock and “saw drugs out in the open” and numerous “personal documents and identification cards and a cheque book” from a variety of organizations and individuals.
“They also found a shotgun that was stored in an unsafe manner and 39 grams of methamphetamine along with score sheets, some cash and scales,” said Schulz.
A co-accused, Lana Kaye Wolfe, is slated to be in court May 11 to deal with seven counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000, five trafficking charges, two counts of careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
