A 31-year-old man who took a backhoe excavator owned by Mountain View County on a brief joyride before crashing the machine into a ditch has been ordered to pay $127,000 in restitution.The accused pleaded guilty in Didsbury provincial court on Wednesday to a charge of mischief over $5,000.Late on the evening of Aug. 16, 2010 the accused got into the vehicle after finding it at a roadside worksite outside Olds, court heard.Moments later he rolled the vehicle and left the scene. The man later attended the Olds hospital with minor injuries suffered in the rollover.Mountain View County workers found the vehicle three days later when they showed up for work at the site.In all, $95,000 in damage was done to the machine. An additional $32,000 was spent cleaning up fuel spilled at the site.ìI'm sorry for my actions. It's been a real eye-opener,î the accused told Judge George Gaschner.The judge placed Travis Labourcane, 31, on probation for 30 months and handed him a $127,000 restitution order.
