A woman has been released from jail after serving nearly three months for stealing from a St. Albert clothing store then ramming into an employee’s vehicle while fleeing the scene.
Irene Menard pleaded guilty to theft under $5,000, careless driving, failure to stop at the scene of an accident and breach of a conditional sentence order in St. Albert court Monday.
Court heard two women entered Mark’s Work Wearhouse in St. Albert on Aug. 17 between 6 p.m. and 6:40 p.m. and went into the fitting rooms with several items of clothing.
One paid for her purchases while the other woman – later identified as Menard – left the store without paying for an estimated $400 worth of merchandise.
A store employee suspected theft and went out to the parking lot to write down the licence plate of the vehicle the two women were leaving in.
Menard, who was driving a U-Haul moving truck, noticed this and sped away in the parking lot. The U-Haul ended up hitting the store employee’s parked vehicle.
Menard continued to drive away.
The store employee chased the vehicle on foot. Another driver who witnessed the collision followed the U-Haul but stopped because the driving pattern was “too erratic and dangerous,” crown prosecutor John Donahoe told the court.
RCMP located the U-Haul, and Menard, the next day at the Horizon Motel.
She has been in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre since Aug. 29.
Menard has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1982 with forgery charges. She received an eight-month conditional sentence in November and a four-month conditional sentence in May, both for theft charges arising out of Edmonton.
The 51-year-old has been suffering from a 20-year addiction to cocaine, court heard.
Originally from Ontario, Menard has lived in Alberta for several years. Family members live in St. Albert.
Menard was handed a four-month sentence, which she has already served given 1.5-to-one credit for time in custody prior to sentencing.
She must also pay a $1,150 fine, inclusive of a victim fine surcharge for the careless driving charge under the Traffic Safety Act.
