A man pleaded guilty in court this week after breaking into a seniors' facility that was under construction and stealing electrical equipment.
Travis Tanasychuk, in his late 30s, pleaded guilty to charges of break and enter and mischief in the Alberta Court of Justice in St. Albert on Monday, April 17.
The charges stemmed from two incidents.
On March 2, 2022, surveillance footage showed two male suspects breaking into a seniors facility owned by Careadon, which was under construction at 2 Inglewood Drive in St. Albert.
The suspects gained access by breaking a glass door on the ground level.
They left the building just after 4 a.m., taking with them pallets of GFI breakers and wall plugs valued at $20,500, having caused an additional $400 damage to the door.
Then on Aug. 7, 2022, the RCMP received a call about a break and enter around 1:20 a.m. by a man in a reflective suit, driving a white SUV. Investigators found a Sea Can and trailer had been broken into and copper wire had been stripped. Tanasychuk was discovered with screwdrivers, bolt cutters and other tools, as well as crystal meth and heroin.
Crown prosecutor Ben Wiebe noted Tanasychuk had saved the system time through his guilty plea, and that he made no excuses for his behaviour. A pre-sentence report showed remorse, and successful efforts to kick multiple substance use issues.
Wiebe said while Tanasychuk did have criminal convictions stemming from previous convictions on his record, including property convictions. The convictions were from as recent as 2022, with the most severe penalty of 60 days imprisonment.
Wiebe said it seemed Tanasychuk’s crimes might be related to substance use. A presentence report showed he had taken significant steps to rehabilitation, including a stay at Harmony House, and that he had the capacity to succeed in achieving sobriety, with no underlying psychological conditions that would tend to lead to recidivism.
Tanasychuk had accumulated 111 days of pre-sentence custody, which results in 187 days credit against his sentence.
The crown recommended a sentence of 240 days in custody.
Defense attorney Peter Shipanoff cited his client’s willingness to adhere to strict rules, and his capacity to benefit from prescribed Suboxone to combat opioid addiction. Shipanoff also mentioned Tanasychuk’s Polysubstance Use Disorder, a medical condition stemming from long-term use or misuse of two or more substances.
Justice Joanne Heudes sentenced Tanasychuk to four-month conditional sentence that includes reporting to a conditional sentence supervisor, requiring him to seek or maintain employment, participate in a 12-step program, and to avoid psychotropics.
