Former firefighter faces criminal record for stealing from dead senior
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2017 (2470 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A former Winnipeg firefighter convicted of stealing from a dead senior while on duty now faces a criminal record — something he avoided when he pleaded guilty to fraud in a separate case seven years ago.
After a trial this spring, Darren Fedyck, 47, was found guilty of theft under $5,000 for stealing cash and jewelry from the apartment of a deceased 76-year-old woman he and his co-workers had been called to check on. The crime was an abuse of the firefighter’s position of trust in the community and “appears to be motivated by greed,” Crown prosecutor Kevin Clayton said, calling for a nine-month jail sentence.
Fedyck awaits a decision from provincial court Judge Kael McKenzie, who considered sentencing arguments from Crown and defence lawyers Friday.
Defence lawyer James Wood argued his client should avoid jail time via a period of probation or house arrest. He urged the judge to consider Fedyck has already lost his job, along with his “lifelong dream” of a firefighting career, and has been negatively affected by media exposure of the case.
“Certainly, Mr. Fedyck’s family has been affected by this,” Wood said, noting his client provides care for his ailing parents and his two children.
Fedyck was fired from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service in April 2016, after he had been placed on administrative leave in December 2015 during the police investigation. He was suspended without pay later that month.
A spokeswoman for the City of Winnipeg said the service can’t comment on the case, citing “HR matters,” nor could it say how long Fedyck had been employed as a firefighter.
He was, however, working as a firefighter when he pleaded guilty to fraud seven years ago.
Fedyck was spared a criminal record after he admitted to fraud under $5,000 in 2010. He was granted a conditional discharge for “padding” a nearly $30,000 insurance claim. He falsely claimed two wedding rings worth $2,050 had been stolen during a break-in at his home.
“I just want to assure you that it’s an isolated incident and it won’t happen again,” he told provincial court Judge Brent Stewart at the time. The judge told him firefighters are expected to be “leaders” in the community and his actions might keep him from working his way up the fire department’s ranks.
Fedyck paid back $2,050 and was ordered to make a charitable donation worth $750 as punishment.
He was also charged with public mischief for the false claim on March 5, 2008, but that charge was later dropped.
Avoiding a criminal record in that case was likely key to Fedyck remaining employed with the City of Winnipeg, Clayton said Friday, adding Fedyck has never taken responsibility or shown remorse for stealing from the woman’s apartment nearly two years ago.
On Oct. 2, 2015, Fedyck and co-workers from Fire Station 16 were called to check on the well-being of a 76-year-old woman residing in a Henderson Highway apartment building. She was found her dead inside her one-bedroom suite.
As they left the apartment, the crew realized they needed to retrieve the woman’s Manitoba health card number. Fedyck went back to get it, and members of his crew got suspicious when he took a little too long. A co-worker found him in the apartment with a purse or wallet in his hand.
Other firefighters later found Fedyck’s jacket balled up inside the truck and searched it, finding several hundred dollars in cash and two women’s necklaces. Although the 76-year-old woman dealt exclusively in cash, her wallet contained no bills when it was returned to her family.
Judge McKenzie is set to impose a sentence in August.
katie.may@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @thatkatiemay
Katie May
Reporter
Katie May is a general-assignment reporter for the Free Press.