Woman pleads not guilty to many of her 30 charges, mostly involving stolen property
By Jeremy Appel on August 24, 2018.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel A woman facing 30 offences, including 24 counts of possession of stolen property — 22 charges under $5,000 and two over $5,000 — pled not guilty Thursday to most of her charges. Danielle M. Elander appeared in Medicine Hat Provincial Court in person, where she pled not guilty to charges of possession over $5,000, possession under $5,000, trafficking in stolen property, using credit card obtained by crime, possession of weapon obtained for commission of offence and careless use and storage of a firearm. She pled guilty to break-enter into a dwelling, shoplifting and obstructing a peace officer. “The volume of the charges exaggerate what the situation is,” said defence lawyer Bradley Bellmore, who requested a pre-sentencing report for the guilty pleas, which he said will contain significant mitigating factors. One mitigating factor Bellmore divulged Thursday is Elander’s lack of a prior criminal record. According to the Crown, on May 11, 2017, Elander was arrested after being caught shoplifting some sausage, a pair of shoes and a red shirt from Walmart. Upon her arrest, Elander provided police with a fake name. The bulk of the charges stem from an incident on Sept. 15, 2017, when the Redcliff RCMP attended to a house that was broken into and ransacked. The point of entry was through a side window in the garage. The accused allegedly stole TVs, a laptop, truck and $27,000 in currency. The stolen truck was found shortly after when it was reported by a member of the public. Police dusted the residence for fingerprints and they matched Elander’s. Elander is due in court next for sentencing for her guilty pleas on Nov. 28. The trial for her not guilty pleas is set for Jan. 22, 2019. Note: The headline has been updated to correct that Elander pled not guilty to most of the charges. 17
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