Trying to steal thousands of dollars in merchandise from a store in Port Alberni to pay off a drug debt has cost a Nanaimo woman 535 days in jail.
In Port Alberni provincial court, Judge Doug Cowling sentenced Robin Schultz, 29, to 535 days in jail and 18 months probation for motor vehicle theft, break and enter and failing to stop. Schultz has been in custody since April 22, and received credit for time served.
Schultz admitted to having a drug addiction, which fuelled the crime. On the morning of April 22, Schultz and a male accomplice smashed the windows at Jay’s Lace It Up and stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise before fleeing. Police chased the couple after they failed to pull over. They drove the stolen truck over an RCMP spike belt placed across the highway at Hilliers Road by Oceanside RCMP. The vehicle continued on but drove into a ditch at Qualicum Beach.
Schultz was apprehended. Police said the second person, Pierre Gino Guidotti, 39, also from Nanaimo, escaped and is still at large. See page A8 for details on Guidotti.