Man truly sorry for stealing $8,000 in copper: judge

When Ricky Penney pleaded guilty in July to stealing a large piece of copper, valued at $8,000, from a local business, he was facing time behind bars,

The 38-year-old man, who had no legal representation, readily admitted that he had taken the copper from China Steel, his former employer, on Nov. 10.

Visibly upset, emotional, and sobbing, Penney repeatedly told Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek, who asked if he wanted to speak to a lawyer before sentencing, that he didn't know what to do.

It was then that defence lawyer Joe Greco, a relatively new member of the local legal community, stood up and offered to meet with Penney the following day to provide pro bono advice.

Kwolek adjourned sentencing until this week to give the accused an opportunity to discuss the situation with the lawyer.

On July 29, the court heard the Ontario Provincial Police had received information about the piece of copper that had been brought to a Goulais River landfill site on Nov. 17.

The dump operator indicated that he had never seen copper in this form, and had been told that it had been obtained during a clean-up operation.

When officers checked this out two days later they learned from China that a former employee had admitted stealing the copper, assistant Crown attorney Matthew Caputo said.

Penney, who turned himself in to police, confessed that he was behind in his bills and decided to take this opportunity to deal with his financial problems, the prosecutor said.

The copper was recovered, Kwolek heard.

On Wednesday, Greco told the court the lawyers now had a joint sentencing position for a suspended sentence and 18 months probation.

"It was not a crime of greed. It was not a crime to support addiction," the defence said, explaining Penney suffers from anxiety issues.

"His crime was to deal with bad decisions about debt and bills piling up," Greco stated, calling it a one-off event.

"He's not a bad guy, your honour."

Prosecutor Karen Pritchard said the Crown was recommending this sentence and cited a number of mitigating factors, including Penney's admission to police, his remorse, and the fact that the copper was returned to its owners.

She noted he has a criminal record, but the last conviction was in 2008.

"I don't know why I did it," Penney told the judge, insisting it wasn't planned.

"I thought it would relieve the stress,"  he added, indicating that he had tried to return the copper right after the theft but wasn't able to do that.

"I'm really sorry."  

When he imposed the sentence, Kwolek said he found Penney's remorse to be true. 

He cited the accused's early guilty plea, co-operation with the police, and return of the copper which minimized the loss.

"I think if I put you in jail you might get some new friends I don't want you to have."

During his probation, Penney must not go within 25 metres of China Steel and must do 100 hours of community service.

"This is your opportunity to give back to the community. Hopefully, I won't see you back before this court again," the judge told him

Later, outside the courtroom, Greco said Penney was unable to get any assistance from duty counsel because "he was just on the cusp for getting legal aid," and "nobody would help, partly because of the charges."

The Crown originally wanted four months jail, and "somebody has got to do justice," he said.

If duty counsel and the province don't want to uphold justice, it is up to the private bar to do the best to bridge the gap, Greco said.

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