Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 11/03) - A man who washed restaurant dishes will be drying out in jail.

Jason Whalen stole more than $50,000 worth of jewellery and almost $5,000 in cash and receipts from Le Frolic while employed by the restaurant as a kitchen helper in March.

Judge Brian Bruser sentenced the 21-year-old man to a year in jail for break-and-enter, along with a three year probation order requiring him to pay $7,000 in restitution to his victims.

RCMP notified jewellery stores after the gems, money and receipts went missing on March 30, said Crown Counsel Shelly Tkatch.

Not long after, a teenager brought a diamond ring into Eldons jewellery, wanting to have it appraised.

The clerk told her to come back in 20 minutes and called police. Le Frolic owner Julia Tate confirmed the ring was hers.

The girl confessed that Whalen climbed into the restaurant through a window and threw down a bag of jewellery, plus envelopes full of cash and credit card receipts to her and another male youth. They went there because Whalen said he knew where to get some money.

The other youth told police Whalen gave him the jewellery to put in his backpack.

Jason Whalen then confessed. Some items were still missing and Whalen said he would get them and contact police, but he never called.

The next day, police found him at Centre Square Mall. Whalen told police he was afraid of getting charged again so he threw the jewels behind the Gold Range. The items were not found there.

Another teenager dropped off some of the gems. He told police Whalen asked him to sell the items on April 7.

Tkatch asked for one year in jail, probation and $7,000 in restitution for the cash, receipts and jewellery not covered by insurance. All told the unrecovered jewellery amounts to $6,000. About $2,000 of this was not covered by insurance.

Defence lawyer Graham Watt denied that his client was the ring leader and said all three people involved should pay back the $7,000 a a request the judge denied.

Whalen moved to Yellowknife from Manitoba because he kept getting into trouble with the law and hoped to start a new life, said Watt.

Le Frolics owners Julia Tate and Pierre LePage submitted victim impact statements that were read in court.

Tate said she was angry a traitor was working right under their noses, casing the place while he worked for them.

She called him a predator who stole tips from staff who work hard to keep the small business running, and from people who gave him a chance.

She said she will continue to trust people, but A whole lot less than I did before.

LePage wrote that many staff watched police taking Whalen out of the restaurant in handcuffs and felt disgusted.

Break-ins are a big problem in Yellowknife, said Judge Bruser, and something the community is angry about.

The judge said he would have ordered Whalen to clear out of town, if Whalen didnt have a fiance from Yellowknife and a nine-month old child.

I dont think people want you here, Bruser said.