WESTLOCK – An area man who stole $15K from his then-partner’s bank account while she was in rehab, received a short jail sentence deemed served by the two-plus months he’s already been behind bars.
Appearing in Westlock Provincial Court Jan. 11 via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, Thomas Durward Thompson pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000, failing to attend court and failing to comply with conditions of an undertaking, while three additional counts of failing to comply with conditions of an undertaking and single charges of failing to comply with release order conditions and failing to attend court were withdrawn by the Crown.
Judge Gordon Putnam agreed to the joint-sentence submission for 71 days in jail for Thompson, time deemed served by 48 days, credited at one to 1.5, of the 74 he’s spent at the ERC, and also waived the victim-fine surcharge. The Crown, when asked by Judge Putnam, made no further ancillary orders, like restitution for the victim.
While the Crown noted the man’s two-page criminal record spanning back to 1991, they noted there had been a 20-year gap without any convictions. Finally, defence lawyer Gary Smith asked for the victim-fine surcharge to be waived as “it would be a hardship” for Thompson who doesn’t have a job and lives off a trust fund.
Court heard that the victim contacted the Westlock RCMP and said that while she was in rehab between April 15, 2019, and May 6, 2019, a series of e-transfers totaling $15,060 had taken place from her bank account “without her knowledge or consent” and that “only Mr. Thompson knew of her online banking passwords as he had set up the account for her.”
Following, Thompson disobeyed release conditions to not have contact with the woman as he had been living with her “on and off” between Oct. 29, 2021, and Jan. 2, 2022, and then failed to make a scheduled appearance in Barrhead Provincial Court Oct. 25, 2022.
