NOVA SCOTIA COMPUTERS STOLEN The News Serving Pictou County Nova Scotia: Local News | Man whole stole computers told to get out of town – and stay out:


Man whole stole computers told to get out of town – and stay out print this article
The News

NEW?GLASGOW – A man convicted of stealing from Wal-Mart was told to get out of Pictou County – and stay out – for at least the length of his probation.
William Gerard Hutton pleaded guilty on Monday in New Glasgow provincial court of stealing computer equipment from the WalMart outlet in the town on two separate occasions.
In the first incident on Sept. 13, 2008, security cameras captured Hutton, accompanied by a woman, pushing a cart containing a Dell computer into the store’s garden centre. He then pushed a second cart, also containing a Dell computer, into the section, where the woman, believed to be a store employee, disabled the alarm and allowed Hutton to push the carts through the exit at that section.
The two computers, worth $1,700, were never recovered.
In a second incident on Jan. 9, Hutton filled a cart with laptops and walked out of the store. When the store greeter attempted to check his receipt as the alarms went off, Hutton said his wife had the receipts and left.
Wal-Mart’s theft officer chased after him and demanded he return to the store. At that point, Hutton broke into a run and abandoned the cart filled with laptops and was chased down in a snow bank, where he was held until police arrived.
The laptops, valued at around $3,000, were recovered.
Hutton has a lengthy history of thefts, crown attorney Herman Felderhof told New Glasgow provincial court on Monday, dating as far back as 1980.
“Theft has been a way of life for this individual,” Felderhof said, adding that he was most recently in custody in June 2007.
Judge Theodore Tax imposed a 60-day sentence for the two thefts, minus 14 days for a two-for-one remand credit, followed by a year’s probation.
Felderhof insisted on a somewhat unusual condition for Hutton’s probation – that he stay out of Pictou County during the length of the order, which Hutton consented to do.
“He’s not from this area and he’s not welcome,” Felderhof told the court.
When Tax inquired as to whether an exception would be made for Hutton to travel through the county, Felderhof shook his head.
“There’s other ways to Cape Breton, your honour,” he said.
He’ll also be required to stay out of WalMart stores across Canada during his probation period.
Although the computers were not recovered in the first incident, the Crown did not request restitution, saying that collecting the funds wasn’t realistically a possibility.
“If you keep up this behaviour – taking things from retailers like Wal-Mart – there’s going to be consequences,” Tax told Hutton.
“If you don’t get it this time, there’s going to be greater consequences next time.”
23/06/09