A 46-year-old Surrey man who targeted the catalytic converters of two Burnaby carpet cleaning fleets was sentenced in Vancouver provincial court this week.
Christoper Begg and co-accused Michael Royal were charged in December 2022 with multiple counts of breaking and entering and mischief to property over $5,000 in relation to catalytic converter thefts at COIT Cleaning and Restoration on Wayburne Drive and Aero Carpet Services on McConnell Drive.
Begg was arrested on the charges on Feb. 11, 2022, according to police, and pleaded guilty to three counts.
He was in court for sentencing Tuesday.
COIT contacted police on Boxing Day in 2021 to report a break-in on Christmas Day, according to agreed facts read out during the hearing.
“Someone, Mr. Begg, had gone into their yard and taken catalytic converters from 11 separate Chevrolet Express vans,” Crown prosecutor Ross Fahrni said.
On New Year’s Eve, Begg cut the lock on the gate of the Aero yard and walked around looking under “various company vans” and then left, according to Fahrni.
He returned on Jan. 2.
He walked between the vans holding a battery operated red and black reciprocating saw, according to Fahrni, and cut a hole in the fence between Aero and Firestop Caulking next door.
Begg returned to Aero again on Jan. 3.
The carpet cleaning company reported catalytic converters were removed from four of its vans, and Firestop Caulking said it was missing a jerry can and a number of propane tanks.
Begg was handed a 12-month conditional sentence (a jail sentence served in the community) and 12 months of probation.
Fahrni, defence lawyer Julie Grenier and B.C. provincial court Judge Donna Senniw all agreed a pre-sentencing report prepared before the sentencing showed Begg was in the process of turning his life around.
Under the conditions of his 12-month conditional sentence, Begg is banned from COIT and Aero and from any association or relationship with anyone his probation officer deems “a risk to (him) or others or to be detrimental to (his) programming, counseling, reintegration into the community or a risk to the protection of society.”
That ban includes his co-accused, Royal.
Begg will also be under an 11 p.m.- to-6 a.m. curfew seven days a week and must complete 20 hours of community work service in the first nine months.
Any counselling he attends will count towards those hours.
On probation, Begg won’t have a curfew, but will have to report to a probation officer and complete another 20 hours of community work service.
During his conditional sentence and probation, Begg is not allowed to “go into or handle any sort of a motor vehicle other than public transportation” unless he has the owner’s written permission, and he’s not allowed to possess any tools except for work.
Begg apologized for his offences and Senniw wished him well.
“Good luck. I have tremendous faith that you’re going to continue on this path that you’re now on,” she said.
“I will. Thank you so much,” Begg said.
Royal, who was arrested on the charges on April 30, 2022, has yet to face them in court.
There is currently a warrant out for his arrest, according to the court registry.
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