A man received 2.5 months in jail after getting caught shoplifting four times from various businesses in Penticton.
Francesco Antonio Ciardullo pleaded guilty to four counts of theft under $5,000 and was sentenced to 78 days in jail in Penticton Provincial Court on Nov. 17.
On Jan. 12 Ciardullo was caught by a loss prevention officer trying to steal a $500 Calvin Klein suit from The Bay in the Cherry Lane Shopping Centre. Security footage showed him lifting the suit up over the security devices at the entrance and later abandoning the suit in the mall. Ciardullo said the suit was for a funeral he was attending and that he could not afford one. He was then released on a promise to appear in court.
On Feb. 28 the loss prevention officer at the Real Canadian Superstore reported that Ciardullo entered the store on a mobility scooter and filled a zippered bag with high-end meat products. Ciardullo was detained and released on a promise to appear in court.
On April 9, Ciardullo once again attempted a theft, this time at the Save on Foods in the Cherry Lane Shopping Centre. Ciardullo was once again seen hiding high-end meat products in the basket of his mobility scooter and leaving the store. He told the loss prevent officer he forgot to pay for the nearly $175 in meat products.
Finally on Nov. 10 Ciardullo was caught attempting to steal a $250 set of knives and was arrested. He has been in custody since.
Ciardullo has a criminal history spanning 19 convictions, including 10 for theft under $5,000 and two for possession of stolen property.
Defence counsel for Ciardullo, Robert Maxwell, said that his client had hit the end of the road.
“He likes high-end meat — then he runs out full speed on his scooter,” Maxwell said.
“The knife set … I thought it was $40, but it was $250,” Ciardullo said at the sentencing hearing. “I don’t know what to say…”