A new Albertan has roughly four months left to serve behind bars after pleading guilty to breaking and entering and stealing a truck.
Neil Wendell Buchanan appeared in St. Albert Provincial Court Monday via closed-circuit television from Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre, where he has been in custody since mid-July.
Crown prosecutor John Donahoe told the court that on July 18, Buchanan and two other individuals drove to a rural property claiming they had engine troubles, and tried to sell a stolen television to the property owner.
Upon leaving the property, the owner called RCMP to report a suspicious vehicle. It was later reported to have been stolen from Century Casino. RCMP were unable to locate the vehicle at the time.
The next day, Morinville RCMP responded to a call from a rural residence near Bon Accord after homeowners noticed their front door and garage door had been kicked open. A window of a vehicle located inside the garage had been smashed.
Buchanan and two co-accused individuals were still on scene.
Each man was charged with breaking and entering and possession of stolen property over $5,000, and the two co-accused each received six months behind bars.
“Looking at the matters in question, Mr. Buchanan should be treated no different,” Donahoe said.
Buchanan moved to Alberta a few months ago to pursue work in Fort McMurray. His lawyer said he had previously struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, which resulted in his criminal record.
“He has been trying to turn things around,” his lawyer said.
Buchanan is undergoing drug and alcohol treatment while in prison.
“I’d like to say sorry to the victims that I’ve done trouble to,” he said.
Buchanan was also ordered to submit a sample of his DNA to police.
Stealing a router from a local big-box store got one man a $500 fine.
Colin Wayne Seto was set to stand trial Monday but decided at the last minute to enter a guilty plea for stealing a $31.36 item from Walmart.
Crown prosecutor Patrician Hankinson told the court that Seto and another man walked into the store the afternoon of Feb. 3 and proceeded to the electronics department where they placed a router into a Walmart bag.
They then approached the customer service desk where they returned the item.
Seto declined to speak with duty counsel and waived his right to have the charge read to him.
The co-accused individual received a $500 fine at an earlier date.
