‘I think she is fooling us’: teen gets 18 months probation for Walmart heist

A 15-year-old girl arrested following a daytime armed robbery at a Winnipeg Walmart is free again in the community, despite a judge’s blunt assessment she had given social workers and justice officials little reason to trust her.

“I think she is fooling us, she is fooling us all, obviously,” provincial court judge Heather Pullan said before sentencing her last week to 18 months supervised probation.

The girl was one of four teens, including her younger sister, arrested Sept. 3 following a shoplifting incident at the Unicity Walmart, during which a 13-year-old male co-accused fired at a security officer with a CO2-propelled airgun.

The security officer was not injured and the four youths were quickly arrested by police officers in the area at the time.

Court heard the youths walked into the store, grabbed several backpacks, and proceeded to stuff them with approximately $750 worth of merchandise before attempting to walk outside when they were confronted by the security officer.

The girl was originally charged with robbery but pleaded guilty to theft. Crown attorney Lisa Carson said it could not be proven the girl ever had the airgun in her possession or that she knew her co-accused had brought it with him.

The girl was released on bail and offered a chance to resolve her charge by way of diversion before prosecutors learned she had been involved in a similar group heist at a Portage Avenue Safeway a month earlier, Carson said.

Following her release for the Walmart offence, the girl was involved in another group shoplifting heist at a Vermillion Road Co-op Food Store, during which a male youth co-accused discharged bear spray in a security officer’s face.

The girl was arrested Dec. 22 for breaching her curfew, released on bail, then rearrested New Year’s Eve following another bail breach. In a police interview, the girl admitted to a string of shoplifting offences between June and November. The girl and her various co-accused sold the stolen goods on Facebook Marketplace.

Carson said there was no firm dollar estimate for the value of the stolen goods, “but it could be in the several thousands of dollars.”

The girl’s probation officer previously reported she had been doing well on release, at the same time more charges were coming to light, Carson said.

“She’s a smart girl, she has a lot of potential… She is at a stage where she has a lot of decisions to make.”

A social worker told court the girl has been offered all kinds of supports and tools to help her make better choices, but she is “consciously choosing” not to access them.

“She is constantly showing a disregard for the law, public safety, herself, and the resources all attached to her,” the social worker said. “The thefts allow her to be out for many days and weeks at a time, (they) provide her food… She doesn’t go home unless police pick her up or we find her.”

Carson argued the girl has not yet reached the point it is necessary to sentence her to custody, “but it is getting close.”

“She wasn’t super criminalized before and the risk was low,” Carson said. “She’s a smart girl, she has a lot of potential… She is at a stage where she has a lot of decisions to make.”

The girl read out portions of a letter she wrote for court, saying “so-called friends” had lured her into stealing “for some quick cash.”

“I wish I didn’t mess up,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I loved going to school and going home with my grandma and siblings.”

Pullan agreed to sentence the girl to probation, while at the same time casting doubt on her sincerity.

“I wish I didn’t mess up.”

“Your letter is beautiful and well constructed, but I have a feeling it is just another attempt to fool us,” Pullan said.

“You keep blaming your friends in that letter,” she said. “I don’t believe that for a minute… I know you know what to say, but you have to know how to behave. These are your choices, you can’t blame it on somebody else. We hope you value your freedom as much as we do.”

The girl’s sentence includes an order she not attend any Walmart, Co-op, or Safeway store in the city and abide by a nightly curfew.

The founder of a non-profit organization that provides assistance to marginalized communities said the girl’s story will come as little surprise to those working with criminalized youth in Winnipeg.

“We are releasing and rearresting young people over and over, without changing the conditions we are releasing them into,” said CommUNITY204 founder Daniel Hidalgo. “By doing that, we’re not interrupting a cycle, we are reinforcing it.

“Many of these youth are operating in survival mode, and that mode is shaped by trauma, instability, poverty, unmet needs.”

Hidalgo said ensuring youth involved in the justice system have access to supports, mentorship and oversight upon their release is critical.

“Every human being needs that — particularly those who don’t have parental figures and a healthy dynamic,” he said.

“Prevention is crucial, and in order for us to prevent young people from being trapped in the justice system, we need to… really get to the underlying root causes.”

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

— with files from Tyler Searle