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(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS – A man recovering from a downward spiral involving crack-cocaine and a cheating partner was handed a 90-day jail sentence in Kamloops Provincial Court for robbing a clerk at knife-point and stealing from his employer.

Lorne Steven Valliers, 34, was convicted of charges relating to forging cheques, stealing over $5,000 and robbing a convenience store while armed with a knife.

Valliers, a truck driver, drove a cargo shipment worth approximately $73,000 from Calgary to Vancouver in April 2013. While stopped in Revelstoke, Valliers accepted a cheque made out to his employer, which he forged by signing it over to himself.

The truck and cargo never made it to Vancouver; the employer discovered it was parked in Enderby with most of the contents missing.

It was determined Valliers sold the cargo worth over $5,000 and forged the cheque for drug money.

Later, police learned a man robbed an Enderby convenience store with a knife. Valliers’ (now former) common-law partner testified she drove Valliers to the store to buy cigarettes. After Valliers exited the store and returned to the car, he indicated the two should leave quickly.

When police showed up at Valliers’ door, he admitted to pulling a carving knife on the clerk and stealing $40 from the till.

Valliers does not have a criminal record and attributes his criminal activity to his crack-cocaine addiction. He claims his trouble with the law began after discovering his common-law wife had an intimate relationship with a man he knew. While Valliers was away, the new partner moved into the family home which was supported financially by Valliers. Valliers relapsed soon after his break-up.

Judge Christopher Cleaveley said at sentencing earlier this month Valliers would not include prison time if Valliers did not commit the robbery. After reviewing Valliers’ efforts to get clean, Cleaveley said Valliers has taken “subsequent steps” to “get his life back on track.”

Valliers will serve a 90-day intermittent sentence at the Surrey RCMP cells. His two-year probation order includes living in a recovery home, following a curfew, no alcohol or drugs and no possession of weapons. He will attend a counselling program.

To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014