Accused in Dollarama robbery trial denies theft

A Brandon man testified during a Dollarama robbery trial in Brandon provincial court on Friday that he didn’t steal anything and was “just browsing” through the store.

Sean Lepine, 27, is charged with a single count of robbery with violence.

Miteshkumar Vagadiya testified that while working at a local Dollarama in March, he saw a man put merchandise in a backpack.

“Within a few seconds, this guy walked by, and I said, ‘Are you going to pay?’” Vagadiya said. “When he said no, I immediately dialed 911.”

He said one of his co-workers started recording the interaction on his phone.

The man was on his way out of the store, but when he saw he was being recorded, he turned around and kicked Vagadiya’s co-worker in the waist area before leaving, Vagadiya testified.

When questioned by defence, he said he couldn’t remember what time the altercation happened, the day of the week or how long the man had been in the store.

Vagadiya said the man was wearing a jacket and had a backpack, but couldn’t remember what else he was wearing.

“I’m going to suggest to you that the person offered to show you their bag and its contents,” defence lawyer Jennifer Janssens said. Vagadiya disagreed.

When she asked if he knew what the man had put in his bag, he said he didn’t know.

“If the person had put something back, you wouldn’t have seen that because you were in a different aisle, correct?” Janssens asked. Vagadiya agreed.

A customer who was in the store that day testified that she heard a commotion and decided to see what it was.

She said she saw a man in the doorway and two employees who were asking the man to leave, saying that he was stealing and telling him he wasn’t allowed in the store.

“The gentleman in the doorway said, ‘I’m not stealing,’” she said. “The person in the doorway … moved forward and kicked the one Dollarama employee in the stomach and knocked him to the floor.”

The woman helped the employee up and asked if he needed medical help, she said.

She testified that she was “shocked to see such a violent kick” and left her name and phone number with the employee in case she needed to testify.

She said she couldn’t see the man’s face, as he was wearing a hat and a hoodie.

Janssens asked if she saw the man steal anything.

“No, I did not,” the woman said.

The responding Brandon Police Service officer, Const. Brooke Huculak, also took the stand.

She said she got to the store at 3 p.m. and spoke with the employees. When she saw the video, she said she immediately recognized the man.

“What was it that you saw in the video of this person whose face is obscured that made you think, ‘That’s Sean Lepine?’” Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup asked.

Huculak said she has had many previous interactions with Lepine during her seven years as an officer with BPS and that he has “very identifiable features.”

“He has eyes that are a bit more wide-set and slightly slanted down in the corners. He has an eyebrow piercing on his right eye that looks as if it’s been very infected, as it’s swollen and large,” Huculak said.

After speaking with the employees, she went to a residence where she said Lepine lived. She said he wasn’t there but was told to check for him at another apartment nearby.

While walking in that general area, she said Lepine asked, “How can I help you?”

She arrested him and brought him into the police cruiser. She said she read him his charter rights and took a recorded statement, which was played for the court. She said he was wearing a backpack, and no merchandise was inside.

In the recorded statement, Lepine said he didn’t use violence to steal, and he never had a bag.

Janssens asked Huculak if she took any steps to confirm that the person in the video the employee recorded was the same person she arrested.

“There was no need. I knew from the video. I was 100 per cent positive that I was looking at Sean Lepine.”

“So, it wasn’t important to you to confirm that afterwards?”

“No, I just didn’t find any need.”

When Lepine took the stand, he testified that he was “just browsing around” and repeatedly said he didn’t steal anything.

“(The employee) asked me what was in my bag. I gave him every opportunity to check my bag, and he said ‘No, just go.’”

He testified that he did have a bag and, after being questioned by the Crown, acknowledged that he lied when he told Huculak he didn’t.

Lepine testified he kicked the employee because he was mad he was being recorded.

“I’m going to suggest to you sir, that you did steal. You put stuff in the bag. You tried to leave the store, and when you knew you were going to get caught, you got upset that you were being videoed,” Lonstrup said.

Lepine responded by saying, “Why would I need to steal from Dollarama?”

In closing arguments, Janssens said Lepine made it clear he didn’t steal anything and made the “impulsive decision” to kick the employee because he was angry he was being recorded.

“It was done not to ensure he escaped, not to ensure he got away, but just because he became angry about the video.”

She said there is no evidence that any merchandise was missing or recovered.

Lonstrup argued that there was a connection between the violence and theft since he hadn’t yet left the store.

“He has not completed the act of theft … He is midway through stealing,” he said.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta reserved her decision, and Lepine’s matter will appear again on Tuesday.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com