A former tire shop worker will serve 30 days in jail for stealing from his employer.
Daniel Ramkissoon, 28, pleaded guilty in Red Deer provincial court on Tuesday to ordering tires and then selling them and pocketing the cash. The theft was tallied at $3,941.
Ramkissoon worked at the Kal Tire store at 67th Street and Gaetz Avenue between Nov. 1 and Dec. 12 last year when the offence occurred.
Defence counsel John MacNaughton told Judge Darrell Riemer that his client admitted the theft to his employer before the loss was reported to police.
MacNaughton said his client chose to plead guilty at the earliest possible date, but his first court appearance was scheduled for a considerable time after the charge was laid.
He said Ramkissoon has already given him the money to cover the cost of the tires. The money was placed in trust to return to the store.
Crown prosecutor Tony Bell advised the court that the sentence should take into account the breach of an employer’s trust as well as Ramkissoon’s prior conviction for assault in 2008.
Riemer said a prison term is warranted when a worker steals from an employer, but gave Ramkissoon credit for admitting to his crime.
Riemer ordered that the sentence be served on weekends, starting on July 5, with six months of probation during the times that he is not in jail.
Bell said outside of the hearing that intermittent sentences are still available in some circumstances, although the province announced earlier this year that the practice would be curtailed.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com