A local man will pay a fine after being caught alongside a convicted thief inside a stolen truck.
Kevin Leischner, 42, pleaded guilty in Didsbury court on May 7 to obstructing a police officer. He was handed a $500 fine and a $75 victim surcharge.
The Olds man had identified himself to police as “Justin Cornell” before his arrest on Oct. 28 in Sundre last year.
Jason Furlong was also arrested with Leischner on that date. He is now serving a two-year sentence for a number of break-ins and property crimes committed in the Olds area last year.
Judge Bruce Fraser noted that Leischner's criminal record was not long and that people are not sent to jail for a first offence.
However, his comments came with a warning of jail time should there be a second one.
“If you ever do this again, you can expect that,” Fraser said.
Leischner also had six charges against him withdrawn by the Crown: possession of stolen property over $5,000; breaking and entering; possessing break-in instruments; two counts of theft over $5,000; and theft under $5,000.
The charges resulted from the Oct. 28 arrest when RCMP stopped Leischner and Furlong, inside a white Ford F-360 pickup truck.
Both men told police they had no identification, the court heard from Crown prosecutor Deanna Dahlseide Haase.
Police determined that the truck, driven by Furlong, was stolen from Olds Concrete and at the time, there was a warrant for Furlong's arrest, Dahlseide Haase continued.
According to the case information, the pair was found with bolt cutters, tools from Newwave Energy and Services Group and copper wire.
The defence asserted that Leischner did not know the truck and property were stolen.
Leischner's lawyer Roy Shellnutt said his client was helping Furlong move the items, adding that the convicted thief had taken responsibility for the crimes related to the six other charges.
