Big city crown prosecutor defends nicorette thief!

Clare,

Thought you'd be interested in this:
http://www.leducrep.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2214220.

Ol' Vic
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Good Day Readers:

A special thank you to The Public Eye from the highly popular site Truth To Power ( www.accesstoinfo.blogspot.com; vicpopuli1@gmail.com) for sending along this article from the LEDUCREP. Former Manitoba Legal Aid lawyer, www.CyberSmokeSignals.com "General Legal Counsel" and now Wetaskiwin, Alberta crown prosecutor Lionel Chartrand it seems is handling some very serious cases these days.

lionel.chartrand@gov.ab.ca

We always knew he was destined for greatness when he scurried off to Alberta in July of 2008 not bothering to renew his license to practice here!

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
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Provincial Court Briefs - Prison for Nicorette thief/Posted by Alexandra Pope

An Edmonton man who planned to sell Nicorette gum he stole from a Leduc grocery store to buy food and drugs is hoping for a new lease on life once he gets out of prison.

Robert Pollett pleaded guilty to theft under $5,000 at provincial court in Leduc November 26 and told court he feels he is getting too old for his life of crime.

"I'm 54 years old, I need to change my life around," he said. "I need to get out and start my rehab."

Pollett was arrested on October 25 after a loss prevention officer at the Leduc Safeway spotted him attempting to leave the store with 14 packs of Nicorette gum, valued at $576.

The officer followed Pollett out of the store, past the security alarms, and arrested him in the parking lot.

Pollett turned out to be on release from two previous thefts, one in Vegreville, where he stole razor blades, and one in Red Deer, where he stole 19 Blu-Ray DVDs. Pollett pleaded guilty to those charges in Vegreville on November 2 and received an 18-month conditional sentence that would enable him to enter rehab for an addiction to alcohol and marijuana.

Crown prosecutor Lionel Chartrand (emphasis ours) said Pollett had an "extreme" record, with 37 prior convictions for theft and possession of stolen property. Pollett's defence lawyer said he is serious about cleaning up his act this time around.

Judge Marilyn White sentenced Pollett to 30 days in prison.