A Langley man has pleaded guilty to stealing cartons of cigarettes worth about $55,000 from convenience store owners he stalked at Costco stores.
Christopher Sharafi, 45, appeared by video in Western Communities provincial court Thursday and pleaded guilty to 14 charges of theft of cigarettes. The offences took place between January 2012 and January 2013.
Defence lawyer Kris Pechet and prosecutor Christine Lowe asked the court to order a psychiatric report to assist at Sharafi’s sentencing on Aug. 15.
Sharafi was arrested Jan. 23 by the Regional Crime Unit. It was the culmination of a six-month investigation that began in June 2012, when a large quantity of cigarettes was stolen from a parked car in Saanich. Investigators discovered the victim had just returned from buying cigarettes at Costco. They believed the small business owner had been followed home.
Police soon identified a number of similar cases in Greater Victoria, Nanaimo, Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Kamloops. Car windows were smashed or tires slashed. Police linked a total of 28 cases of cigarette theft from Costco customers throughout B.C.
On Aug. 16, $2,000 worth of Costco cigarettes were stolen from a car in Nanaimo. A day later, $6,300 worth of Costco cigarettes were stolen from a convenience store in Saanich — less than 20 minutes after the store owner bought them. On Sept. 12, another $1,800 worth of cigarettes were stolen from a car in Nanaimo.
From these and other thefts, police identified a suspect vehicle: a brown Pontiac van using a variety of stolen licence plates, including one set stolen from a car outside the Long Lake Inn in Nanaimo.
Sharafi, who owned the van, was identified as a possible suspect. He was placed under surveillance and on Jan. 22 police watched him lurking in the Costco parking lot in Nanaimo for six hours. The next day, they watched him follow a car from the parking lot to a nearby restaurant and steal $3,200 worth of cigarettes.
Outside court, Pechet said he believed his client was stealing the cigarettes to make money for a gambling addiction.
“Mr. Sharafi is self-barred from the casinos in the Lower Mainland, so there’s some recognition there that he has a gambling problem,” Pechet said.
Courts take addictions, whether to alcohol, gambling or drugs, into account at sentencing to help them understand people’s motivations, he said.
“It’s a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde thing. He’s a very good father and there’s plenty of very good support letters from members of the community. … Outside of this dark side of him, he’s an otherwise very good person,” Pechet said.
Sharafi also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing stolen lottery tickets, two charges of possessing stolen licence plates, break and enter, theft of lottery tickets, and one charge of possessing break and enter tools.
The Crown is expected to ask for a sentence of two years less a day, plus a lengthy probation order to allow Sharafi to make restitution to the people he robbed.
Pechet will be asking for a conditional sentence order for Sharafi, who has been in custody since January.
“If he gets a conditional sentence, he will be out in the community, able to work and more able to make restitution,” Pechet said.
Staff Sgt. Gary Schenk of the Regional Crime Unit said the case was unique and challenging.
“It was satisfying to see it result in a guilty plea that will save everyone the expense and time of a lengthy trial,” Schenk said.
