Danielle Wilkins, the Cold Lake woman arrested and charged in relation to the theft of an RCMP bait vehicle, was sentenced to one year in custody after pleading guilty to multiple offences.
Wilkins appeared in the Bonnyville Provincial Courthouse from the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre via CCTV on Tuesday, Oct. 2.
The 31-year-old plead guilty to knowingly possessing a prohibited weapon, two counts of breaching her conditions, theft of a motor vehicle, and possession of a controlled substance in relation to her most recent arrest.
On Aug. 1, Wilkins and her co-accused Traylene Whitstone, 30 of Cold Lake First Nations, were arrested and charged after stealing an RCMP bait vehicle. Cameras inside of the vehicle captured Wilkins driving it away from its rural location. Using the vehicle's GPS tracking system, the North Eastern Alberta Crime Reduction Unit was able to find the vehicle and conduct a traffic stop.
Wilkins was arrested, and during the search police found methamphetamine and an illegal taser.
Crown prosecutor Jordan Kerr described the issue of vehicle theft as "rampant in our area."
During Tuesday's court appearance, she also plead guilty to break and enter, after a Nov. 23, 2017 incident. A resident had called Cold Lake RCMP after they noticed their neighbour's door was left open. The caller knew the neighbour was out-of-town for work.
When police arrived they noted the house had been ransacked.
As part of their investigation, RCMP dusted for fingerprints and found a partial palm print and fingerprint in the house.
The prints were later confirmed a match for Wilkins.
That same month, Cold Lake RCMP were undergoing an investigation into another suspect when they arrested Wilkins for three counts of possession of stolen documents and possession of meth.
She plead guilty to these charges during her court appearance.
In November 2017, police were granted a search warrant for two properties as part of an ongoing drug investigation.
One of the locations was a Cold Lake hotel room.
While officers were conducting their search, they came across less than one gram of meth and stolen documents. As police continued to search the hotel room, Wilkins opened the door using a room key.
She had stolen documents in her possession at the time, and was arrested.
Wilkins has a criminal record with 18 prior property crime-related convictions, and four previous drug offences.
Acting duty counsel Stephanie Oleksyn said Wilkins struggles with addiction issues.
With three children to take care of, Wilkins said she knows something needs to change.
"I fully intend to get my life back," she told Honourable Judge Marilyn White.
White sentenced Wilkins to one year in custody. She will also provide a sample of her DNA for the Canadian National Data Bank, and is prohibited from owning a weapon.
At the time of her sentencing, Wilkins had spent 161 days behind bars, with 204 left to serve.
White urged Wilkins to seek help for her addictions issues.
She said, "(Your kids) deserve a sober mother."
