Man must pay back farmers he stole from
He can keep the eggs, but a provincial court judge ordered Gerald Francis Lake to pay restitution to three Central Saanich farm stands he stole from this spring.
Lake pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of theft and one count of stolen property.
After hearing the circumstances of the offences, Judge Adrian Brooks suspended the passing of sentence and placed Lake on probation for 12 months. Brooks ordered Lake to pay the restitution within four months.
Crown prosecutor Jess Patterson told the court that Lake stopped at a farm stand on Old West Saanich Road on March 9.
Footage from a hidden camera showed Lake looking into the money box, which was empty at the time. Lake made off with a dozen eggs that day. The eggs were valued at $6, Patterson said.
The next day, Lake stopped at a farm stand on Prosser Road and took $20 from that cash box, Patterson said. Lake returned to the farm on Old West Saanich Road the following day and took $13 from the money box. The thefts continued. On April 22, Lake and his co-accused, Carl Lyon, stole $70 and a $5 bunch of asparagus from a farm stand on Oldfield Road.
Lyon pleaded guilty in June to breaching his court-ordered undertaking not to go within 25 metres of a money drop box without the owner’s permission and was fined $150.
On April 24, Central Saanich police were called to Integrity Sales on Keating Cross Road for a report of suspicious persons. The officer saw Lake and another man driving away with a new lawn mower in the back of a car.
The lawn mower had been stolen from Integrity Sales.
Defence lawyer Stephen Suntock told the court that Lake, who was born and raised in Nova Scotia, has a very dated criminal record and hasn’t been in trouble for quite some time.
“He struggled on and off for the past four years with a cocaine addiction and relapses when he’s not working and not doing well,” Suntock said.
“That was the situation when these offences took place. He hadn’t worked for about four months and didn’t have a stable housing.”
Lake is back at work now and not using drugs. He has a letter from his employer, who speaks very highly of him, the lawyer said.
“His drug use is controllable. He seems to be able to pull himself up by his boot straps and get back to work,” Suntock said.
“His addiction has not met with serious consequences, so this is a bit of an eye-opener for him.”
The conditions of Lake’s probation include attending alcohol and drug counselling as directed by his probation officer. He is also prohibited from going to Integrity Sales.
“I’m glad to see that things seem to be going in the right direction now,” Brooks said.
“The purpose of this order is to try to encourage you to stay on that path and also to make some reparation to the people who lost their money.”
Former Central Saanich mayor Jack Mar, who keeps his Veyaness Road self-serve farm stand open over the winter, says 2017 has definitely been a better year than 2016 and 2015 when it comes to thefts.
“There’s been only one that I’m aware of,” Mar said. “They didn’t take too much.”
In the past, thieves have frustrated Mar, who calls the thefts “part of business,” to the point that he closes the door for a few days.
“But my regular customers love shopping at my little stall, [so] then I’ll open up again.”