Man gets jail for selling stolen property online

By Lethbridge Herald on June 12, 2024.

Delon Shurtz
Lethbridge Herald

Selling stolen property online has earned a Lethbridge man a jail sentence.

Darren Scott Trimble, 54, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lethbridge court of justice to one charge trafficking stolen property and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

On Jan. 24 a Lethbridge resident called police to report a break-in to his attached garage, in which about $6,000 worth of work tools had been stolen from a tool box kept in the back of the owner’s work truck. Police investigated the crime, but didn’t have any leads until one of the items stolen, an 87-piece professional blue point socket set, unexpectedly turned up.

On April 4 an acquaintance of the victim called police and said he had purchased just such a tool set that Trimble had advertised on FaceBook MarketPlace. A brief examination of the tool set confirmed it was the tool set stolen from the garage in January.

“(The buyer) indicated that he had arranged to meet with Darren Trimble in February of 2024, purchased the tools…then later found out just by chance that they belonged to (the original owner),” Crown Prosecutor Robert Morrison told court.

Morrison pointed out Trimble has a lengthy criminal record, which includes multiple convictions for break-ins, thefts and various property related offences. His most recent conviction was on Jan. 2 for two counts of break and enter and theft, for which he received jail sentences.

“He had just been recently released when he ended up coming into possession and then selling the property of (the owner),” Morrison said.

Lethbridge lawyer Tracy Hembroff noted Trimble had dealt with similar offences earlier in the year.

“My client has really been struggling with drug addiction,” Hembroff explained, adding that he was “finding things in some fashion or another” to sell so he could buy drugs and find places to live.

Although sentenced to 60 days in jail, Trimble was given credit for the same amount of time he has spent in remand custody, which completes his sentence. He will remain in custody, however, on additional charges unrelated to the tool theft, which include shopbreaking and theft, trafficking stolen property, mischief, housebreaking/commit mischief.

Trimble returns to court on those matters July 3, which, Hembroff pointed out, will provide the defence time to work on a bail plan.