A couple who removed a cash-filled safe from a family member’s home couldn’t explain in Superior Court Wednesday what happened to the money but will be responsible for repaying it.
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It was a question posed by Justice Aubrey Hilliard several times during the sentencing hearing for partners Ian Brazeau and Bebe Vahey on Wednesday in Brantford.
“What did they do with all the money?” Hilliard asked the lawyers after hearing how the pair took a safe charge with $60,000 in cash from a home on Pusey Boulevard in October 2022.
No one seemed to have an answer.
According to assistant Crown attorney Rana Thiara, police were called on Oct. 3, 2022 by a woman who reported her home had been entered and the only thing missing was the safe which, along with the cash, contained a marriage certificate and a passport.
Suspicion immediately fell on family as it appeared the culprits knew the precise location of the safe and only moved one chair to get to it.
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Video surveillance from the neighborhood captured a white Dodge Ram pickup, like the one driven by Vahey, arriving near the house and leaving the area.
More video showed the same truck arriving at an Oakville auto shop.
In this video, Vahey, who is normally confined to a wheelchair, is seen “walking fine” said Thiara.
“It appears she’s much more mobile than self-described,” said Thiara.
Vahey was injured in an accident in 2015.
As the lawyers outlined a plan for the couple to serve their time under house arrest in a community sentence while making restitution for the money, Thiara asked another financial question.
“Regarding the motor vehicle accident – is there a payout pending?”
Vahey’s lawyer said he thought there was but his client quickly said those funds were all gone.
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“They paid me out but I had some other expenses. I had to pay for my father’s funeral. I spent the money.”
Now not working and on “very limited means”, according to her lawyer, Vahey is remorseful for her part in the crime.
Brazeau, too, is “truly remorseful” said his lawyer. The pair each accused guilty of breaking and entering the home.
By giving the man a six-month community sentence he could serve at home, it would allow him to continue working, earning money to support the couple and making some restitution.
“What happened to the money?” asked Hilliard again.
“I don’t know,” said the lawyer.
Hilliard said the break and enter was a breach of family trust and “hard to undo” but, she noted, the pair each had very old criminal records and did no other damage to the home.
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“It’s aggravating that this was to a dwelling house. Homes are supposed to be a sanctuary and there doesn’t appear to be any explanation as to what happened to the $60,000, but at least it kept the victims from having to come and testify.”
Hilliard sentenced Brazeau and Vahey to a 12-month community sentence with six months of full house arrest and six months of a curfew.
“A breach of this means you would go to jail and stay there until you show why you should be released.”
The judge ordered each of criminals to repay $30,000 through a freestanding restitution order.
@EXPSGamble
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