ATM thief sent to jail for 18 months

A P.E.I. man who stole an ATM from the Winsloe Petro Canada was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in jail. James Kent Myers, 34, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to three charges that included break and enter and theft. Myers stole a piece of heavy machinery from Toy Master Motorsports that he used to get the ATM out of the gas station in March.

He dragged the ATM away using a snowmobile. Defence lawyer Yolande Murphy told the court Myers reported that he started using drugs about six months before the theft.

The court heard Myers had a drug debt of about $850. Before sentencing Myers, Orr referred to multiple offences he committed several years ago, including the attempted theft of a Pepsi machine that ended with him breaking his foot. In another incident from several years ago, Myers used a stolen vehicle to break into an Irving where he started to steal an ATM but stopped.

Orr said Myers’s partner made comments that the accused wasn’t a criminal. “I think probably almost everybody would disagree,” Orr said.

The ATM theft in March wasn’t something Myers did in the spur of the moment, and it required some planning and premeditation, Orr said.

She also said it was a very serious matter and his prior record involved similar facts.

Orr sentenced Myers to 18 months in jail for break and enter and theft, minus 124 days of credit for time already served. She also sentenced Myers to one year concurrent for the theft from Toy Master Motorsports and one month concurrent for obstructing a police officer. Myers will be on probation for three years after his release, during which time he is banned from going within 500 metres of Toy Master Motorsports and the Petro Canada.

In addition, he will have to pay a total of more than $11,800 in restitution, including for replacement of the ATM and to repair damage to the Petro Canada.

Myers must also write apology letters and pay $600 in victim surcharges.

After sentencing Myers, Orr told him the only reasons it wasn’t for a longer period were his guilty plea and the impact the sentence will have on his family.