Shortly after 7:30 p.m. on a September night two years ago, Peter Tarbox was nabbed with nearly $400 worth of stolen items as he tried to leave Walmart without paying for the merchandise.
Store security spotted the would-be thief as he selected numerous items, including work boots, duct tape, jogging pants and a fire starter, as he made his way up and down the aisles.
He abandoned the shopping cart, then left the store with a bagful of purloined products, Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek heard last Monday.
When a security guard approached Tarbox, he indicated he had a knife, assistant Crown attorney Chris Thompson said.
The officer contacted city police, and followed him until the cops arrived.
Tarbox was arrested, and then released on an undertaking prohibiting him from going to the Great Northern Road business.
Less than two hours later — at 9:15 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2022 — he was back at Walmart, filling a backpack with three flashlights, a sweater and other items.
Once again, security followed him out of the store and the cops collared him nearby at the intersection of Second Line and Old Garden River Road.
Tarbox elbowed a police officer in the face in an attempt to run away, Thompson said.
The 45-year-old pleaded guilty to five offences — threatening, assault, breach of an undertaking and two counts of theft — stemming from his actions that day.
Tarbox also was convicted of seven other charges.
A few days after his bad behaviour at Walmart, he made a visit to Canadian Tire on Sept. 29, where he tried to make off with $90 worth of purloined property.
On Nov. 13, guess where he was? Back at Walmart, where a video captured the accused stealing more stuff.
A loss prevention officer followed Tarbox out of the store and confronted him about the theft, Thompson said.
He brandished what the officer believed was a blue-handled knife and the security guard retreated, he told Kwolek.
Tarbox pleaded guilty to assault for this attack, which involved the same guard he threatened in September, as well as breaching an undertaking that prohibited him from going to Walmart.
He also was convicted of obstructing a Batchewana First Nation police officer by giving him a false name during a traffic stop on July 3 of this year.
The Crown and his lawyer Ken Walker jointly called for a five-month jail term, plus 18 months probation.
Tarbox, a Batchewana First Nation member, has a drug problem — an addiction to opiates — and also suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome, the defence told the court.
Since he's been in custody at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre, his client has been taking a special medication, every 28 days, that "keeps his addiction in check."
Calling the guilty pleas mitigating, Walker said they were waiving a Gladue report.
Tarbox, who was in a wheelchair, appeared in court via Zoom from the ATRC.
"I'd like to apologize to the Sault Police for my conduct, and the workers at Walmart and the city of Sault Ste. Marie for my actions," he told Kwolek.
When he imposed sentence, the judge accepted the lawyers' position, noting the guilty pleas saved a lot of court time and also showed Tarbox's remorse.
Kwolek also called the thefts aggravating — particularly his two visits to Walmart where he was arrested twice within a couple of hours.
With the credit he received for his pre-sentence custody, Tarbox will spend a further 46 days behind bars.
His jail time will be followed by 18 months probation, during which time he's banned from going to Walmart and Canadian Tire.
As well, Tarbox is prohibited from having any contact with the Walmart loss prevention officer he threatened.
He also must take any recommended counselling, particularly for substance abuse.
Kwolek also ordered him to provide a DNA sample for the national database.