House arrest ordered for shopbreaking conviction

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on January 19, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Fort Macleod man who broke into his employer’s business and attempted to steal a vehicle has been placed on house arrest and ordered to pay nearly $3,000 for damages he caused.
Jesse Taylor Shoemaker, who pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court to one count of shopbreaking with intent to commit theft, was given a six-month conditional sentence followed by six months of probation. During the first three months of his sentence he will be on 24-hour house arrest, followed by curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. during the remaining three months.
On Dec. 13, 2018 Shoemaker broke into his employer’s Coaldale business by forcing a door open which set off an alarm. Shoemaker cut a wire to the alarm system then smashed a window to a company truck. While he was throwing around some items stored in a shed, the owner, who had been notified by a security company that his business alarm had been triggered, arrived and caught Shoemaker in the act.
“He confronted Mr. Shoemaker, who appeared to be quite heavily under the influence of some substance,” Crown Prosecutor Dawn Janecke told court.
Shoemaker told his boss he just wanted to check the boiler room, but, Janecke pointed out, the business does not have a boiler room.
Shoemaker is prohibited from going to his former employer’s business, and he must live at an approved residence. He must be assessed and receive counselling for psychological issues and alcohol abuse, abstain from consumption of alcohol and drugs, and not have any alcohol in his residence. He must also make restitution in the amount of $2,970.

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