Safecracker sent to prison

A would-be safecracker who targeted Kamloops restaurants has been ordered to spend nearly two years in jail.

Mark Erin Nelson, 45, pleaded guilty Thursday in Kamloops provincial court to a string of charges including three counts of break and enter, theft under $5,000, possession of stolen property and flight from police.

Nelson broke into three Kamloops restaurants in a 10-day span, starting with Cora on Highway 5A on Feb. 22. He gained access to the safe, from which he stole a chequebook and personnel documents.

On March 1, Nelson burgled the White Spot on Notre Dame Drive and on March 3 he broke into the Dairy Queen on Hugh Allan Drive. In both cases, he tried unsuccessfully to break into the safe.

“On all those occasions he was captured on video surveillance,” Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi said in court.

“Officers later executed a search warrant at a residence on March 21. The accused was located inside the residence, and a hammer and some tools used in the break-ins were located, as was the clothing the accused was wearing at the time.”

Nelson also pleaded guilty to three breach charges and a series of unrelated offences: On Aug. 13, 2023, he smashed the window of a pickup truck parked in a lot on Columbia Street to steal a mountain bike from the backseat; On Nov. 10, 2023, he stole a pickup truck from a parking lot on McGill Road; and on July 20, he stole a vehicle from an address in Barnhartvale, then ran when police found him on Highway 97.

Defence lawyer John Gustafson said Nelson has struggled with homelessness and addiction, but he has responded well in the past to treatment — something he hopes to take advantage of in prison.

Provincial court Judge David Ruse went along with a joint submission for a jail sentence totally 677 days. Once he’s given credit for time served, Nelson will have nearly 17 months remaining on his sentence.

He was also ordered to submit a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database.