A Vernon man is spending the next five months in jail after pleading guilty to breaking into a Calgary Avenue parkade.
Dustin Alan Wilson, 21, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession of a controlled substance, breaching probation and theft under $5,000 on May 2 in Penticton Provincial Court.
Between Feb. 14 and 21 of 2017, RCMP received four different reports of several thefts of mountain bikes from a storage locker located in an apartment complex on Calgary Avenue. Through a surveillance system, police were able to obtain still images of the male suspect, who police recognized as Wilson.
Depicted on the surveillance footage was Wilson in possession of a bike stolen from a residence on Skaha Lake Rd. Wilson abandoned the bike at the Calgary Avenue address after breaking in.
Wilson was not caught taking anything from the Calgary Avenue address.
On Feb. 23, RCMP located Wilson riding a black mountain bike on Winnipeg Street. Wilson was arrested as the bike he was riding had been reported stolen. He was found to be in possession of a backpack riddled with break-in tools, six garage door openers and a cut padlock.
In his statement to police Wilson said the bike he was riding at the time of his arrest been purchased from another man, and Wilson was unaware it was stolen and didn’t inquire about the deal he was getting when it was purchased in what his lawyer called “willful blindness.”
It was uncovered during court proceedings the man who Wilson purchased the bike from was also in custody.
James Pennington, defence counsel for Wilson, said his client, having done carpenter work in the past, was returning the bag of tools, which had been lent to another person, however he was not able to explain the garage door openers.
While being booked into cells by police, Wilson was found to be in possession of 1.28 grams of methamphetamine.
Wilson had a prior conviction for possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose in Vernon and failed to report as ordered in his probation. Wilson was also caught on Dec. 3, 2016 stealing cologne at the Penticton Walmart.
Wilson told Judge Greg Koturbash he had fallen in with the wrong crowd and began using meth and heroin when he moved to Penticton.
“I’ve been living in Penticton the past year right? I just associated myself with my cousin’s crowd and it’s really bad,” Wilson said. “I associated myself with his crowd and things went downhill real fast.”
Wilson has about five months (152 days) remaining on his jail sentence, followed by a year of probation, including six months under a 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew. Wilson was ordered not to posses tools which could be used for breaking and entering and ordered not to attend the Calgary Avenue address as well as Walmart Penticton.
