WESTLOCK — A homeless man previously residing in the Westlock area was sentenced last week to about 10 months in prison for a string of crimes, including breaking into the shed at the local dirt bike track and fleeing from police through the downtown area.
At Westlock Court of Justice on Jan. 31, Tyler Cory Stump, 25, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property valued at under $5,000, breaking and entering, flight from a peace officer, possession of stolen property valued at over $5,000, failing to comply with a probation order, theft of a motor vehicle and two counts of failing to comply with release order conditions.
More than a dozen other criminal charges were withdrawn, though Stump is still slated to go to trial on charges of fraud under $5,000, use of a forged document, fraud over $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order in Westlock court on May 29, 2024.
Justice Carrie-Anne Downey sentenced Stump to a total of 315 days in custody, including 150 days for the theft of a motor vehicle, 60 days concurrent on the possession of stolen property over $5,000, 30 days consecutive for failing to comply with a probation order, 30 days consecutive on the theft under $5,000, 45 days consecutive on the break and enter, 30 days consecutive for the flight from police, 30 days consecutive on the first failure to comply with a release order and 30 days concurrent on the second such charge.
However, Stump was also credited with having served 41 days in custody, which worked out to 62 days on an enhanced credit basis. With that deducted, he has 253 days left to serve.
Downey’s sentence differed slightly from the Crown’s recommendation of 390 days in custody and the defence’s recommendation of 285 days in total.
Though she cited other mitigating and aggravating factors, Justice Carrie-Anne Downey considered that Stump was homeless during most of his offences, if not all of them.
“These do appear to be crimes of necessity, for the most part,” she said.
The facts
Presenting the facts in chronological order, Crown prosecutor Taylor Noble said that on May 20, 2023, Smoky Lake RCMP were called to a report of a truck theft at a Petro-Canada gas station in Waskatenau.
Members obtained a statement from the victim, who had attempted to stop the theft by grabbing on to the rear passenger door of his truck and trying to open it.
Noble said the victim was then dragged approximately 30 feet before falling off. He sustained various injuries, including a fractured wrist.
Noble said that through an investigation, Stump was identified as the person, responsible for the theft.
On May 21, the victim observed his truck driving past him and heading to the Lamont area. He notified the police, who eventually found the truck and conducted a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle was Stump, who was searched incidental to arrest and found in possession of a bank statement with the victim’s name on it.
Noble noted Stump was under a probation order not to have any identity documents, credit cards, debit cards, cheques or financial documents that did not bear his name.
Next, on Aug. 12, 2023, Westlock RCMP were investigating a break-and-enter at the dirt bike track in Westlock when they observed water pumps and other tools laying at the entrance of a homeless encampment near the track.
They located the two individuals who had broken into the shed, one of whom was Stump. He confessed to the break-and-enter and taking property from the shed, as well as the theft of a chop saw taken from CN Rail days earlier.
On Sept. 13, at approximately 12:15 a.m., a Westlock RCMP constable was on proactive patrols when he was informed that Stump may be operating a Chevy truck in the area, despite not having a valid driver’s licence.
Eventually, the constable found a truck matching the description he had been given and observed Stump was behind the wheel. He attempted to initiate a traffic stop, though Stump began to increase his speed while driving through downtown Westlock.
The constable tried to catch up to Stump but called off the pursuit when the vehicle accelerated to a high rate of speed. However, the constable continued his search later found Stump near the vehicle while on foot.
Finally, on Jan. 7, 2024, the Westlock RCMP received a call from Slave Lake RCMP regarding the GPS location of a stolen vehicle along Range Road 263, east of the Ramada Inn.
Officers attended the location and found the vehicle “exactly as described,” Noble said. Stump was behind the wheel of the vehicle and turned it on when police approached him, but they had blocked him in.
Stump turned off the vehicle and was arrested without further incident, Noble indicated. At the time, he was on a release order not to be in a motor vehicle without the registered owner present or behind the wheel of any motor vehicle.
“He said he didn’t know how the truck was stolen, but needed a place to warm up, as he was freezing from living in his tent,” Noble said.
Sentencing arguments
Noble said Stump has a recent and related criminal record with a number of property-related offences and breaches of conditions stretching from May 2020 to July 2023.
She noted that the theft of the motor vehicle in Waskatenau was the most serious of his offences, as the victim was badly hurt while trying to prevent the theft.
“This situation could have been much more dangerous and led to much more serious injuries,” she said.
In terms of mitigating factors, Noble acknowledged there were some trialable issues with the circumstances leading up to the flight from the police, as well as the fact that Stump was found near the vehicle, not in it.
She also acknowledged that Stump was saving the court considerable time and resources by pleading guilty to these offences.
Defence lawyer Richard Forbes pointed out that Stump had been living in a tent at a homeless encampment throughout the summer and winter, and that influenced the majority of his offences, which were “not sophisticated. They’re opportunistic, they’re of limited gain.”
He noted that Stump is also potentially suffering from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), though this has yet to be diagnosed.
Forbes pointed out that this will be Stump’s longest period of incarceration and it will allow him to access some rehabilitative programming, which he had been unable to utilize in the past “despite his long criminal record.”
When asked if he had anything to say, Stump said he was sorry to the people he hurt.
“I’m trying to change. I’m planning to go to school when I get into a different correctional building,” Stump said.
In addition to Stump’s homeless status and possible undiagnosed FASD, Justice Downey considered that the majority of Stump’s offences were not on the serious end.
For instance, the break-and-enter at the dirt bike track shed was not a residential dwelling, and the flight from police was “low-level.”
“I can tell you, Mr. Stump, had there been more aggravating features to that flight, I suspect the sentence would be much higher,” she said.
