WESTLOCK – A Westlock man who walked out of a local store with a basket full of groceries without paying received a stiff, 30-day jail sentence and remains behind bars to deal with charges of driving without insurance and driving while unauthorized.
Appearing in Westlock Court of Justice July 12 via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC), Brent Donald Tiegs, 54, pleaded guilty to shoplifting under $5,000 with Justice Bruce Garriock agreeing to the joint sentence of 30 days in jail proposed by Crown prosecutor Ashlee Kirby and defence lawyer Robert Kassian — a second, identical charge of shoplifting under $5,000 was withdrawn by Kirby, while Justice Garriock waived the victim-fine surcharge.
Kirby noted Tiegs’ “unenviable and lengthy criminal record” while asking for the jail time, while Kassian said his client is currently unemployed and helping take care of his 85-year-old mother.
Although Tiegs, who’s been in jail since June 16, was in a time-served situation and received 30 days credit for 20 of the 27 days he’s been locked up, he also faces other undisclosed charges, as well as counts of driving without insurance and driving while unauthorized.
Tiegs told court he was having trouble contacting his insurance agent and claimed he “had insurance on the vehicle that I got charged for having no insurance” and “would like these charges thrown out actually, but I know I’ll have to get proof.” Ultimately, he’s scheduled to be back in court Aug. 2.
“I should have done this a long time ago but …” said Tiegs.
The crime
Kirby told court that on June 3, 2022, Westlock RCMP got a call from Sobeys that a shoplifter had walked out “with a basket of groceries without paying” — no value of the stolen items was read into the record.
Upon reviewing the footage, RCMP were able to identify Tiegs, who they had previous dealings with.
