Theft leads to house arrest

Cornwall resident Jessica Rose Power sentenced to 30 days of house arrest for stealing TV, chalkboard from grocery store

A Cornwall resident was sentenced to a month of house arrest for stealing a TV from a Charlottetown grocery store.

Jessica Rose Power, 29, who pleaded guilty to stealing a 32-inch LG television set and a chalkboard from the Atlantic Superstore in January, was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest by Judge John Douglas in provincial court recently.

Crown attorney Valerie Moore said the accused entered the University Avenue location in January where she was spotted by an assistant manager talking to the customer service desk, complaining about points she didn’t receive on her order.

The assistant manager noted the television and chalkboard in the cart and asked the customer service person if she’d noticed those items on the receipt. She said she didn’t and asked Power about them, who told her she paid for them on a different transaction.

Moore told the court that Power was “blatantly stealing” and said the amount of gall it must have taken her to conduct “a stunt like that” is “really mind-boggling”.

Power was captured on security camera leaving the store with the stolen items, valued at $374.76.

Power also has an outstanding balance of $2,458.98 from past offences and was on probation during the January theft.

The accused said drugs were a factor when she committed the theft, but the Crown rejected that idea considering how well thought out Power’s theft seemed to be.

“Her function doesn’t appear to have been impaired to have conducted herself that way. Her behaviour didn’t raise any red flags with the customer service person, so she can’t claim she was out of it on drugs at the time.”

Power’s attorney Thane MacEachern asked the court when it came to sentencing, to consider the fact his client cares for two small children at home and has a summer job lined up.

He said she is open to mental health counselling and will continue to follow the requirements of the methadone program.

Douglas considered Power’s personal situation and agreed to let her serve her sentence in the community.

Following the sentence, Power will be on probation for 12 months, must pay $375 in restitution to the Superstore and refrain from attending that store for 12 months.

She will also have to pay a $100 victim surcharge.