A man involved in the theft of new vehicles from a Red Deer car dealership has pleaded guilty to a single charge.
Torrey Duane Werenka, 37, of Rimbey received a six-month conditional discharge and was ordered to repay $12,500 for his part in the theft of about 50 vehicles from Southside Dodge Chrysler Jeep and RV Centre.
Werenka, who had been facing about nine charges, pleaded guilty in Red Deer provincial court to taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Crown prosecutor Peter Mackenzie of Calgary withdrew the other charges against Werenka, who had a short but unrelated criminal record, Judge Gordon Deck heard.
Mackenzie said Werenka acted for a Southside employee by securing a customer to purchase a new vehicle for less than half its original value.
A numbered Alberta company in Wembley, located about 20 km west of Grande Prairie, paid only $25,000 for a vehicle worth more than $62,000 after taxes.
Court heard that Werenka took a $25,000 draft from the company and gave it to the former Southside employee.
Mackenzie said Werenka was acting with “substantial wilful blindness” and should have known something was amiss in the transaction.
The prosecutor said the $12,500 will go to the victim while the former Southside employee is on the hook for the remainder if convicted at his trial.
Werenka was placed on probation for the six months and must also pay a $100 surcharge.
Meanwhile, a man facing almost 100 theft and fraud charges in connection with the theft will have a trial in Court of Queen’s Bench on Dec. 9 and 10.
Calvin Robert Mirbach, 34, of Red Deer faces numerous fraud and theft charges.
Daniel Descheneau, 38, and Sandra Chen, 29, both return to court on June 27, 2011, for a four-day trial by a judge alone.
Chen and Descheneau face five counts each of theft of more than $5,000 and fraud.
The RCMP said earlier they investigated a complaint in December 2007 that dozens of new vehicles, mostly pickups, were missing from the dealership.
Police said the allegation is that someone wasn’t reporting all vehicle sales to the dealership.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com