A 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to theft of a Ford Focus during a joy-riding spree. Two other youths and an adult are also facing charges of stealing vehicles and possession of stolen vehicles in relation to the same events on the evening of April 8.
The 17-year-old car thief, whose identity cannot be revealed because he is under age, is already in custody serving a sentence for a string of break and enters. His sentence for the theft will be concurrent with the earlier sentence, so he will not receive any additional punishment for this crime.
In Sechelt provincial court July 26, Crown counsel Trevor Cockfield described the joy-riding spree, saying "a number of youths" were driving back and forth between Gibsons and Sechelt in various stolen vehicles. Near the Sundance Trailer Park in Sechelt, Cockfield said, the 17-year-old met the others while driving a stolen Chevy Astro van and drove them to West Sechelt Elementary School.
Once there, "he said they need a ride and reappeared with a grey Ford Focus," said Cockfield. "All the youths drove back to the trailer park, where another youth showed up with another stolen vehicle."
The group drove to Gibsons again, to Roberts Creek and back to Sechelt, where they dumped the now-damaged Ford at a vacant lot on Gale Avenue.
"It's clear this was a number of youth getting up to no good that evening," said Cockfield.
Judge Doug Moss warned the youth that this concurrent sentence would likely be the last break he receives from the justice system.
"You've exhausted the system," said the judge. "Either try to do something with your life, or you'll be spending a lot of it in jail."
The two other youths charged in this case will appear in court Aug. 9.
