PICTOU
A 20-year-old woman was sentenced to five months’ house arrest for spending nearly $300 on credit cards she didn’t own.
Stephanie Renee Fanning of Trenton entered guilty pleas Thursday in Pictou provincial court to one count of possession of stolen property and four counts of fraud in relation to an incident in Pictou County on Aug. 24, 2017.
Four additional fraud charges were withdrawn by the Crown after the guilty pleas were entered.
Crown attorney Patrick Young told the court that New Glasgow Regional Police received a complaint on this day from a woman reporting that her Visa credit card and Canadian Tire Mastercard were missing and being used at various locations.
Police checked the video surveillance at Tim Hortons on East River Road, New Glasgow, and saw Fanning, along with another woman, in the store and making a purchase with a card.
A few weeks later police eventually obtained video footage from all of the locations the cards were used and were able to identify Fanning in each business.
When she was arrested on Sept. 8, 2017, she told police the cards were taken from a purse in the local hospital. She said she didn’t take the cards herself, but she is seen in video surveillance using them.
Young pointed out to the court that Fanning has 18 prior convictions, some of which are related to fraud and theft, and was supposed to be abiding by conditions at the time of her arrest.
Considering she had breached a conditional sentence in the past, Young said, he would usually not recommend she be given another one, but since the amounts charged on the credit cards totalled only $277.45, it was an appropriate sentence.
He said a joint recommendation had been reached with the defence that Fanning serve a nine-month conditional sentence that includes five months house arrest and she must stay away from the businesses she defrauded.
Judge Del Atwood agreed with the recommendation saying that the offences fall in the mid-range of severity and proved to be an inconvenience for the card owners and merchants. However, there was no violence associated with the crimes and no one was subjected to physical harm.
