Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
August 08, 2016 - 2:37 PM
KAMLOOPS - A Kamloops man who blames his opioid addiction for his criminal behaviour won't be put behind bars.
Tyler Norman, 34, has been given one-year probation for breaking into and stealing from a Kamloops RCMP bait car.
Norman appeared unrepresented in Kamloops Provincial Court today, Aug. 8, and pleaded guilty to a theft charge.
Crown prosecutor Will Burrows told the court in the early morning hours of May 15 the Kamloops RCMP bait car activation detector went off.
The first sensor went off just after midnight. About four hours later, a second detection came from the same car.
RCMP reviewed the video footage later in the day and saw the same man entering the car both times. The man had taken sunglasses, cigarettes and a phone charger from inside the vehicle.
About three weeks later on June 7, an officer spotted Norman walking along Tranquille Road. The officer noticed Norman had the same tattoos as the man from the bait car footage.
Norman was arrested that day.
"Theft from vehicles is a real significant problem in Kamloops," Burrows told the court.
Before Judge Stella Frame gave Norman his suspended sentence, she asked if he had anything to say for himself.
"At the time of the offence I was addicted to opiods. I was homeless at the time," Norman said. "I do realize it was wrong."
Norman told Frame that after the incident his mother came from Fort McMurray to help him out. He found a place to live and began treatment.
"It's really important to stay in touch with ASK Wellness," Frame told Norman.
Norman was given 12 months probation and a curfew between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2016