Barrhead man caught shoplifting food receives fine

BARRHEAD - A Barrhead man received a $400 fine and 12 months of probation for stealing about $200 worth of food from the Pembina West Co-op in the summer.

Justice Gregory Arnold Rice handed down the sentence to Lance Jay Sernes, accepting a joint submission from the Crown and defence on Jan. 14 in Barrhead Court of Justice.

Conditions of probation include keeping the peace and being of good behaviour. Sernes is also prohibited from entering the Barrhead Co-op food store.

Justice Rice also waived the victim fine surcharge, saying it would be an unnecessary hardship.

Crown prosecutor Francis Wallace told the court that on Aug. 1, 2024, Sernes shoplifted roughly $200 of food items from the Barrhead grocery store, hiding them in his backpack.

The accused then left the premises with a female who had been shopping in the grocery store shortly before the accused.

Wallace stated the female paid for her groceries.

After reviewing the store's security video, she added that the Barrhead RCMP later identified Sernes as the thief.

Wallace said Series had a previous criminal record

"In terms of property offences, [the accused] has one prior [conviction of being in possession of stolen property] from 1988 and nine prior convictions of theft," she said, asking the court to pay attention, particularly to the two convictions of [theft under $5,000] in 2022.

Before those convictions, Wallace noted a substantial gap in his criminal record, with his previous convictions dating back to 2011.

"Given Mr. Sernes' two recent theft convictions, the Crown's position is that a $400 fine is appropriate given the value of the goods taken, so it does serve to deter," she said.

Sernes' lawyer, Richard Forbes, argued that his client did not profit from the crime, saying his client stole the food not for personal financial gain but for need.

He added at the time of the offence, Sernes was housing insecure and was struggling to find adequate housing.

Forbes noted that at the time of the offence, his client's income was and still is limited to $400 a month through Alberta Works. 

"There isn't even a rent stipend because he lives with family," he said.

Forbes added that Sernes suffers from ongoing health issues and "is in and out of hospital regularly."

He said that despite his client's meagre income, Sernes is committed to making $50 monthly payments until he pays his fine in full.

"Given how much his income is each month, it is really quite ambitious but gives him a foreseeable due date to work towards and proves that he is taking responsibility for his actions as is his really early guilty plea."

Rice accepted the joint submission, calling it reasonable under the circumstances.

"This is a situation where Mr. Sernes was having an issue with housing; he needed some food as he doesn't make any money," he said. "While it does not excuse his actions, it does give me a framework for sentencing."

Rice characterized Sernes' shoplifting on the lower end in terms of gravity.

He also said his moral culpability was on the lower end, accepting the defence's argument that the early guilty plea was a mitigating factor and another example of the accused taking responsibility for his actions.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com