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Unwanted Walmart regular sentenced for numerous thefts

In one case, police were contacted when accused attempted to leave the store with $2,000 in merchandise. Crown said "number of offences" and "persistence in returning" to steal were aggravating factors
220721saultcourthouseMP
The Sault Ste. Marie Court House.

Justin Graham was a regular at Sault Ste. Marie's Walmart Supercentre last summer.

But the 32-year-old wasn't there to make purchases, but rather to make off with shopping carts filled with merchandise.

He pleaded guilty Monday to 18 offences stemming from incidents that occurred in July and August.

Graham was convicted of four counts of theft from the Great Northern Road department store, as well as six charges of failing to comply with a release order requiring him to stay away from the business.

He also was found guilty of seven counts of breaching probation, and a single offence of failing to report to a bail supervision program.

Ontario Court Justice Melanie Dunn heard the man had no fixed address and was bound by two probation orders at the time of the offences.

City police were contacted on July 25, when Graham attempted to leave the store with $2,000 in merchandise.

He was nabbed and all of the items were returned, assistant Crown attorney Stuart Woods said.

Two days later, the accused, who was on an undertaking to not go to Walmart, showed up there again.

A security camera detected Graham stealing a $500 generator, which was never recovered, the prosecutor told the court.

On Aug. 11, police again received a call from the store, about a man, clad in black, and known to employees, leaving the store, again without paying for merchandise.

Officers located him in the vicinity, with $220 in items, all of which were retrieved.

He was released from custody at 3:38 p.m. and immediately returned to the store.

Security spotted him at 4 p.m., but he didn't go inside, Woods said.

Graham was arrested two days later, after city police received reports of a man, wearing a black sweater and jeans, leaving the store with a cart load of stolen items.

He was located in the area with $650 in merchandise, Woods said.

Four days later, on Aug. 17, staff confronted him with $1,300 in pilfered products (food items and tools) and chased him out of the store.

He returned at 5:10 p.m., and again was kicked out, Woods said.

Graham left the scene on a bicycle and was located at a nearby LCBO outlet.

Woods said he was arrested and held for bail court.

On Aug. 23, a Walmart manager contacted the police, when Graham was in the store at 8:15 a.m., breaching undertakings and release orders.

The Crown and defence lawyer Jessica Belisle jointly recommended that Graham be sentenced to time served, plus probation.

Woods said the accused has been in custody since Sept. 2 --"a very lengthy time" for property offences.

He called the "sheer number of offences" and Graham's "persistence in returning" and committing "the same offence over and over" as aggravating factors.

In less than a month, he was shoplifting at Walmart on four occasions and repeatedly commits other offences by going back "when he has no business being there."

Woods described his criminal record as recent and lengthy.

Belisle said her client's record began in 2020 when the pandemic hit.

Graham lost his job, couldn't support himself, became vulnerable and addicted.

The 18 charges he pleaded guilty to, including the number of breaches in such a short period of time, "brought home to him today the importance of probation orders," she told Dunn.

"He sees this as an opportunity to turn the page." 

Calling the sentence "fit and fair," Belisle said he is taking responsibility for his actions.

Graham "understands he can't go back to Walmart and won't."

When asked if he had anything to say to the court, he responded "no thanks."

The judge agreed to the lawyers' joint position.

With the credit he received for his pre-sentence custody, his time-served is recorded as 282 days.

This is a significant sentence for what some people might consider minor property offences, Dunn said.

She noted Graham has an extensive criminal record with similar offences and flagrant breaches of court orders.

His guilty pleas are meaningful, the judge said, and his addiction explains why his record didn't start until 2020.

Graham will be on probation for 18 months and must stay away from Walmart and the LCBO on Great Northern Road.

As well, he must take any recommended assessment, counselling and rehabilitative programs for substance abuse.

Dunn also imposed a stand-alone order requiring Graham to pay $500 restitution to Walmart.

He was ordered to provide a DNA sample for the national database.


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About the Author: Linda Richardson

Linda Richardson is a freelance journalist who has been covering Sault Ste. Marie's courts and other local news for more than 45 years.
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