Image Credit: FILE PHOTO

'IT'S UNFORTUNATE THE POLICE DID THE ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM.'

KAMLOOPS - A Kamloops man will be spending nearly five more months in jail after being found guilty of a break-in where several guns were stolen. He also may think twice next time he posts on social media, after a Facebook post played a part in his trial.

Jason Charles Teskey, 43, will also have a 10-year ban on owning or possessing firearms and is not to have contact with the victims of the break-in.

Teskey was in custody prior to sentencing, and was credited with 225 days served for the one-year sentence.

He was found guilty yesterday, Aug. 11, of breaking into and stealing guns from a house on Valdes Drive in February 2014. 

Teskey's fingerprints were found on pieces of duct tape holding in a smashed window at the residence, court heard.

Supreme Court Judge Elliott Meyers read in his decision yesterday, that a Facebook post on Teskey's page showed a picture of a smashed window covered in duct tape, with text that read "You can't fix stupid, but you can muffle the sound."

Court heard that if a person duct tapes a window before smashing it the sound will be minimized.

"There was a degree of sophistication in this break-and-enter," Crown prosecutor Evan Goulet told the court.

The Brock residence was ransacked during the break-in, with seven guns, a laptop and snowboards missing. The house was badly damaged and a TV had the back taken off of it.

Defence, Crown and Judge Meyers all agreed there could have been other people involved in the crime, and the judge said this case was circumstancial, almost entirely relying on the fingerprints found.

Meyers told the court Teskey testified he was never at the home, but he had an idea of who may have committed the break-in. 

He believed the culprit was a 22-year-old man named Scott who had been living with him for a few months while they worked together.

Meyers said Teskey testified he had given Scott some duct tape to fix his truck window. Instead of giving him a whole roll, he cut off seven pieces and gave them to him.

The entire home was checked for fingerprints, but the only ones found were on the duct tape.

"Mr. Teskey's evidence is so incredible, it does not leave me with a reasonable doubt," Meyers said while delivering the guilty verdict.

Meyers did raise the question of how much involvement Teskey had in the incident.

"His involvement could have been simply 'I'm going to be the window guy'," Meyers said, pointing out that the police did not feel it was necessary to obtain a search warrant for Teskey's home. "It's unfortunate the police did the absolute bare minimum."

Goulet asked for a two year jail sentence, while defence lawyer Eric Rines asked for time-served.

Teskey was in custody for breaching conditions while on bail for his offence. Rines said the breach was due to Teskey leaving town to be with his sick mother.

— This story was updated at 9:56 a.m., Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 to correct the spelling of the accused's surname.

— This story was updated at 12:20 p.m., Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 to include the sentencing.

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News from © iNFOnews, 2016