A local-area man was handed a one-year conditional sentence after he pleaded guilty on Aug. 27 in Didsbury court to three counts of breaking and entering into three compounds. The charges stemmed from a spree of thefts in Olds and the surrounding area last year.
Two other counts of breaking and entering, as well as one count of possession of stolen property under $5,000 were withdrawn.
Kevin Leischner will serve the sentence through house arrest and will not be allowed to leave his home, with exceptions made for emergencies, medical care, work, education, court attendance, counselling, religious observance, community service and shopping for the necessities of life.
Leischner will also be required to submit a DNA sample and pay $1,305.89 in restitution.
The first break-in occurred on Oct. 19 at Grasse Lumber Sales Ltd. in Didsbury where three sets of truck keys, door openers and a post hole digger strapped to a dolly were stolen.
On July 2, he broke into Trackside Sales and Service in Olds, taking a generator set, chainsaw and leaf blower.
Lastly, Leischner admitted to breaking into the compound at Mountain View County on Sept. 5. Emergency lights from the cruisers, peace officer uniforms, two radar units, violation ticket books, directional arrows, an air pot tool, fuel samples and other tools were taken.
During sentencing, Judge Paul Mason urged the Olds-area man to follow the conditions to the letter.
“You've gone from fines to probation to (a) conditional sentence order,” Mason told Leischner.
Leischner's defence lawyer Roy Shellnutt said his client's criminal record only spans from March to November 2013. Prior to that, he ran a successful business as a heavy-duty mechanic before falling into the wrong crowd, leading to his legal troubles.
Those people, Shellnutt told Mason, are now either in jail or have warrants for their arrest for their part in last year's break-in spree.
Crown lawyer Deanna Dahlseide Haase told the court the sentence was intended not to be too onerous yet tough enough to convey the seriousness of the crime.
The court heard that Leischner was given leniency because on Nov. 1, he provided a statement to RCMP acknowledging his involvement in the crimes, detailing which incidents he was culpable for.
Charges were laid based on that statement, said Dahlseide Haase.
