WESTLOCK – A 27-year-old woman who was “severely struggling with addiction issues” leading up to a July 2019 police chase, faces house arrest as part of a conditional sentence order.
In Westlock Provincial Court March 2, Meghan Louise Dube pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property under $5,000 and flight from a peace officer and received an eight-month conditional sentence from Judge Bruce Garriock — four additional charges, including two theft under $5,000 counts and two failing to comply with an order charges, were withdrawn.
While Judge Garriock appreciated the severity of the crime, which saw Dube run through four RCMP spike belts and destroy a minivan she had stolen earlier that day, he noted the woman has taken steps to beat her drug addiction and agreed to the joint-sentence submission that’ll see Dube spend the first six months under 24-hour house arrest. The final two months of the order include a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, plus a variety of other conditions including a weapons ban.
Crown prosecutor Alison Moore, while noting similar crimes “would attract six months in jail”, went on to tell the judge the “community will not be in danger if she is sentenced to a conditional sentence order.” Moore said Dube has a “fairly minimal” criminal record that began in her early 20s, but noted the woman currently resides in a sober-living facility and recently celebrated one year of sobriety.
“From what I understand you’ve completed addictions treatment and are living a positive lifestyle and should be commended for turning your life around accordingly,” said Judge Garriock, who waived the victim-fine surcharge as Dube is currently unemployed.
Dube, who has a Grade 11 education, apologized for her crimes as court heard she had not slept for five days leading up to the crime and was in “flight mode” when confronted by RCMP.
“I understand that actions that have consequences and I do feel really, really bad for what I did. All I can do now is accept whatever you’re going to give me and respectfully do so. I just want to move forward and continue to build a better life for myself,” said Dube.
Court heard that on July 16, 2019, Westlock RCMP received a call about a stolen Dodge Caravan — patrols quickly located the vehicle but it didn’t stop for police. A short time later police located the van again, activated their lights and tried to pull it over — spike belts were deployed in four separate locations to try and stop it. Ultimately, the van hit the ditch after being blocked in by RCMP cruisers and Dube was arrested on scene.
Victim impact statement
The mother of the woman whose vehicle was stolen submitted a victim impact statement stating she’s felt “anger and frustration that we were violated this way.” Moore said they canvassed the victim about seeking a restitution order, but she declined.
In the statement, which was read into the record, the woman said that on the day the van was stolen the family had been attending a Bible school event and the “four children ran back into the building and were crying and scared and said the van was not there.”
“The children were worried the thief would come back and do harm. We also felt vulnerable because the thief now had our personal information,” said Moore reading the statement.
The woman said when the van was recovered they were told there was only minor damage, which wasn’t the case as it was a write-off. And while the owner of the vehicle did receive an insurance payout, it was “minimal” and didn’t come close to replacing not only the vehicle, but the car seats and other items.
“(I’m) frustrated with the system because these property crimes end up with a person getting a slap on the hand and there isn’t any real restitution,” reads the statement. “All I know is this has left me with long-term frustration and anger with the injustice done to daughter, myself and my grandchildren and the lack of real restitution to us personally from the offender.”
