A man who pleaded guilty to a 2024 shoplifting spree was sentenced Aug. 13 in Prince George Provincial Court to one year on probation.
In agreeing to the proposed suspended sentence, Judge Judith Doulis also ordered Stephen Mark Gillis, 45, to pay restitution to the retailers and stay away from specific Prince George stores.
Gillis admitted that, between March 5 and Aug. 1, 2024, he stole: $808.90 of batteries and tools from KMS Tools; a $269.51 security camera from London Drugs; $406.91 of steaks and chicken breasts from Real Canadian Superstore; $771 of tools from Home Depot; and $460.34 of groceries from Save-on-Foods.
When he was arrested at the Superstore on May 7, 2024, the meat was returned to the store, but had to be thrown out due to company food safety policies.
Gillis’s defence lawyer, Airi Cipelletti, said he has obeyed the law since the spate of offences, after a “time period which was very difficult for him.”
A pre-sentence report said Gillis was affected by several personal tragedies in the space of about two months: the deaths of his grandmother, biological father, his brother and a friend.
“This unfortunately exacerbated his pre-existing substance use issues to the point where he was no longer functioning,”Cipelletti said. “He was beginning to damage what he described as his excellent reputation, as a safe and reliable employee. He left his job, and he's been unemployed since.”
The report said that it was the first time in 25 years working in the forest industry that he had been without full-time work, but he is now looking ahead to a September contract. Cipelletti said her client’s guilty pleas on every file show remorse and that he is eager to move forward.
“This is an isolated patch of time in his record and he says, very poignantly, stealing is not for me,” Cipelletti said.
Gillis briefly told Doulis that he is sorry for his actions. But Doulis warned him that a breach of any condition of the probation would require a return to court and, potentially, jail time.
Doulis set Feb. 13, 2027 as the deadline for Gillis to pay restitution.
