A 41-year-old man has earned a 70-day jail sentence and 12 months of probation for a stealing spree at a Burnaby Sunglass Hut and other high-end retail thefts in the Lower Mainland.
Darryl John Dolan appeared in Vancouver provincial court Friday and pleaded guilty to thefts this year at the Metrotown Sunglass Hut and Aritzia, and the Coquitlam Centre LensCrafters.
He had also been accused of stealing about $12,000 in clothing from Petit Pont in Vancouver on Feb. 1, but that charge was stayed because there were possible issues identifying Dolan from the security video in that case, according to agreed facts presented in court by Crown prosecutor Michael Fox.
During the theft from Aritzia on Jan. 31, Dolan stole five jackets valued at just over $1,300.
He stole 10 pairs of sunglasses from LensCrafters on June 4 worth roughly $2,000.
And between Sept. 8 and 17 he went on a stealing spree at the Metrotown Sunglass Hut, stuffing more than $5,000 worth of sunglasses into a re-usable shopping bag during each incident, Fox said.
Those thefts totalled more than $56,000, according to police.
In all but one of the thefts, Dolan was not caught in the act but identified later by video surveillance.
At the Coquitlam LensCrafters, however, staff intercepted him before he could leave.
"They engaged in a struggle, and during that struggle some of the sunglasses fell on the floor and they were damaged," Fox said.
Dolan was arrested at the scene in that case and charged with theft and mischief for the broken sunglasses, but the mischief charge was stayed after Friday's hearing.
Fox said Dolan had a history of theft convictions starting in 2022 but described his most recent crimes as a "step up."
"I'm not sure I would say that they're sophisticated, but certainly they seem to be targeted at higher value items," Fox said.
Fox said Dolan should serve a real jail sentence in the range of 70 to 90 days, minus 55 days of credit for time served, followed by 12 months of probation.
Fox said he would have agreed with defence lawyer Thomas Fung that a sentence in the community could have been appropriate if there had been a bed at a recovery centre waiting for Dolan, but Dolan didn't want to go into recovery because he "doesn't think it will help him," according to Fung.
Fung called for a conditional sentence followed by probation or for a jail sentence of time already served.
Dolan, a trained carpenter and roofer who grew up in Mission, has a crack cocaine addiction and stole to support it, according to Fung.
"The items taken, obviously, were either for resale on the street or – I suspect and he won't confirm that – but I suspect that he got involved with a group of people where maybe he was sent out to bring back certain items, which are easily marketable," Fung said.
B.C. provincial court Judge Dawn Boblin ruled a sentence in the community was not appropriate in the case.
She noted Dolan had been on probation during all but one of the thefts.
Boblin also noted the number of thefts, the value of the merchandise stolen and the fact much of it was never recovered.
She handed Dolan a 70-day jail sentence, minus 55 days credit for time served and 12 months of probation.
During his probation, he will be banned from all Aritzia, Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters stores in B.C. and from the Petit Pont store in Vancouver.
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