A B.C. court has rejected a man's attempt to overturn his sentence after he was involved in a “sophisticated shoplifting scheme” that saw him and an accomplice steal $40,000 worth of high-end products.
B.C.’s Court of Appeal rejected Emil Stan's application to overturn his sentence, which included 18 months in jail and two years probation, minus time served.
In the unanimous, three-judge decision, Justice Elizabeth Bennett wrote that Stan's alleged partner in crime wore clothing modified to conceal stolen items. When they departed a store, they used jamming devices to disable the security systems.
“Over an eight-month period, Mr. Stan and his co‑accused, Nicoleta Rusu, stole thousands of dollars of high-end products from Shoppers Drug Mart and Lululemon,” wrote Bennett in the Dec. 11 decision.
Rusu, who was sentenced independently, received a 12-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to five-counts.
Stan’s sentence in Surrey Provincial Court was contested as the Crown sought a three-year sentence less time served. The defence, meanwhile, sought a sentence of time served, which was around six months credit for pre-trial custody.
Representing himself, Stan told the appeal court that his sentence was unfit and should match Rusu’s.
Bennett said Stan was an electrician, but apparently fell into debt due to gambling and a failed business.
“He borrowed money from unsavoury people,” she said. “He says he committed the thefts in order to pay back the loan sharks who were demanding their money.”
The judge said there is an outstanding warrant to deport Stan, a Romanian citizen.
“He has consented to deportation,” Bennett said.
However, Bennett added, Stan is a prolific and sophisticated offender with a long criminal record for committing similar offences.
She said the sentencing judge carefully calculated fit sentences for each offence, resulting in a sentence of three years. Using what is called “the totality principle” the sentencing judge concluded three years was cumulatively too long and reduced the sentence to two years. The judge then applied the credit for pre-trial custody, which was approximately six months.
Bennett said a review of cases showed that the initial sentence was “entirely fit.”
The appeal was dismissed.
