Man sentenced to six months for high-value thefts

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/07/2025 (266 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who pleaded guilty to a string of thefts from multiple businesses in Brandon was sentenced to about six months in jail on Thursday.

“The values are hundreds of dollars, it’s not a simple T-shirt or pair of pants that he’s taking,” Crown attorney Andrew Sieklicki said in Brandon provincial court.

Vaughan Wilson was charged with six counts of theft under $5,000 and one count of failing to attend court. The lawyers told the court Wilson has spent 112 days in custody — 168 at enhanced credit.

Of the six thefts, one was from Real Canadian Superstore, another from Walmart and four from Winners. The thefts ranged from roughly $100 to $700 and consisted of a variety of items from food to menswear.

Sieklicki suggested a sentence of 375 days for all the thefts combined, along with the failing-to-attend-court charge. He said the breakdown would be 60 days for the first Winners theft, 75 days for each subsequent theft and 15 days for failing to attend court.

He said one of the 75-day theft sentences would be served concurrently with the others, equalling 375 days. Sieklicki said this would be followed by two years of supervised probation.

Time going forward is necessary to specific deterrence and denunciation, Sieklicki said.

He noted Wilson came before the court with a lengthy criminal record, which included multiple related offences.

While there was a gap between 2018 and his most recent offences, Sieklicki noted he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

“I don’t think it’s as large of a gap as may appear,” he said.

While in custody, Sieklicki said Wilson has “been noted for multiple institutional misconduct offences.”

He said Wilson has been offered individual programming, including work booklets, but he told his pre-sentence report author he wanted to hold off until his court appearances were completed.

The pre-sentence report indicated that Wilson accepted responsibility and said the shoplifting he did was to meet his basic needs, Siecklicki said.

“The Crown has a bit of a hard time reconciling that. The values of the items taken doesn’t appear to be straightforward sustenance,” he said.

Sieklicki acknowledged Wilson had a “difficult upbringing,” with substance abuse starting at a young age.

“In his case, marijuana use at 11, alcohol at 12. Cocaine tried at age 12, which is quite frankly very early and something I haven’t seen before for cocaine use,” Sieklicki said.

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison said life was against Wilson since the beginning and that “this young man never really had a chance.” Harrison suggested a time-served sentence, which would mean roughly five months.

“We obviously totally disagree with the Crown’s position. I think it’s excessive. I think it’s oppressive, crushing for this young man,” Harrison said. “We’re talking about shoplifting. We’re not talking about assault, serious assaults. We’re not talking about robbery.”

Harrison said Wilson has significant Gladue factors, including that his maternal grandparents went to residential school.

“He was living on the streets early in life because his home situation was so bad. No guidance growing up, no support in the house. His mother’s pretty candid, she lost control of her family due to alcohol,” Harrison said.

He said Wilson also has mental health issues and is currently taking medication for schizophrenia and depression.

Harrison said he was homeless at the time of the offences and stole the items either for himself or to sell to buy drugs.

When given a chance to speak, Wilson apologized for his actions.

“I’ve realized that I have an addiction to crystal meth,” he said. “I know there is a lot of resources I can reach for.”

Manitoba Associate Chief Judge Donovan Dvorak said he believed a total sentence in the range of six months would be appropriate — 30 days for each of the thefts and 15 for failing to attend court.

He said this would be followed by a period of probation with conditions that include not to attend the Winners, Real Canadian Superstore or Walmart in Brandon.

He told Wilson to use his remaining couple of weeks in custody to make plans for when he gets released.

“Hit the ground running,” he said. “I don’t want to see you get released and living on the streets.”

» sanderson@brandonsun.com