Richard Soulatzkoff was spending the night with friends at their Gaudette Township camp, north of Sault Ste. Marie, in the fall of 2022.
He crashed on their couch, and the couple retired to their bedroom, a judge heard last week.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 15 – around 1 a.m. – he snuck into their room, grabbed the keys to their truck, along with the ownership papers, and hit the road.
His friends woke up to find he had absconded with the 2013 Ford F-150 and contacted the Ontario Provincial Police at 9:50 a.m.
When the vehicle was eventually returned to the couple it "was making a loud noise and couldn't go over 20 km/h," prosecutor Adrianna Mucciarelli told the court.
Soulatzkoff, 42, pleaded guilty to stealing the truck.
He was also convicted of fleeing Sault police on Aug. 11, 2024.
The pursuit occurred on Great Northern Road. The cops stopped the white Nissan vehicle as it travelled southbound from Goulais River.
They located a coil of copper wire and tools in the back of the truck.
Ontario Court Justice Heather Mendes heard a suspicious vehicle had been caught on camera at a hydro transmission site in Tilley Township.
The Crown and defence lawyer Eric McCooeye jointly called for a suspended sentence, with 18 months probation, for the two offences.
"There were triable issues" in both cases and "that's part of the reason why there is a joint position," Mucciarelli said.
Soulatzkoff has quite a lengthy three-page criminal record with related offences, the assistant Crown attorney told the court.
She described the police pursuit and the condition of the stolen vehicle, which "wasn't in working condition" when it was found, as aggravating factors.
Calling his client's guilty pleas mitigating, McCooeye agreed there were triable issues. There also were identification issues surrounding the August charge, he added.
Soulatzkoff is taking responsibility for his actions, which indicates remorse, the defence said.
"I'm sorry," the accused told Mendes just before she imposed the lawyers' suggested sentence of 18 months with probation.
During his probation, Soulatzkoff must take any recommended counselling and can have no contact with the complainants.
Other charges he faced stemming from these incidents were withdrawn. He remains in custody on other charges.
In August, he was one of two men charged with stealing $800,000 worth of materials from Algoma Steel.