No jail for tire theft

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

A Penticton man who broke into a secure compound at Canadian Tire received a nine month conditional sentence in court on Friday.

David Baresinkoff will serve his sentence in the community, with the first four under house arrest and last five under a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Crown prosecutor Kurt Froehlich told the courtroom that at about 11 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2016, the security company that monitors Canadian Tire reported an alarm.

Officers arrived and found footsteps in the snow and Baresinkoff sitting there with his hands dirty.

Surveillance footage from the scene showed him jumping over a fence and taking two tires.

He was arrested for break and enter and released on a promise to appear.

Baresinkoff has a criminal record on the “low end of the spectrum,” with crown recommending the nine month conditional sentence, including a no go order at Canadian Tire.

Defence lawyer Robert Maxwell said his client, who works part-time in the community, was addicted to heroin at the time of the offence, but has spent 10 months on a methadone program, coming up clean on random drug screenings. He is committed to staying clean and sober, he added.

RCMP have been called to the fenced compound at Canadian Tire multiple times, prompting Judge Gale Sinclair to state "the compound attracts people like honey attracts flies.”