Trent security officer guilty of stealing from employer
Trent security guard Randy Grims had pleaded guilty to stealing a total of $2,977 from Trent's pay-and-display parking machines. The Ontario Court of Justice heard that six separate thefts took place over the nine-month period spanning between May 9, 2003 and Feb. 17, 2004. Mr. Justice Ray Taillon asked Grims if he used keys to remove the cash boxes and steal the coins, Grims said he did.
The trial was scheduled to take place over two days, forcing the closure of Trent's parking office. Faced with the evidence presented on the first day of trial, Grims pleaded guilty at the beginning of second day.
Randy Grims is the very security officer whom, allegedly, Trent human resources managers consistently, and blindly, defended without investigation when he and another security officer were accused of harassing female employees. For those stories and how Trent's human resources management (mis-)handled the situation under the watch of Associate Vice President Human Resources David Mahy see:
- Report Kept Secret: H.R. Allows Harassment to Persist?
- HR Managers Back Thief?
- Bullies in Security, Senior management failed to intervene: report
- Mahy's Tasteless Joke - We are Not Amused
- Prinzo v. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care - Trial
| Former security officer on trial By Alek Gazdic Peterborough Examiner - Friday May 13, 2005 - Page B2 A trial began for a former Trent University security officer accused of stealing $2,977 from campus parking meter machines. Randy Grims, 38, of Wintergreen court listened to testimony that he was the only officer working when the thefts occurred during a 10-month period starting May 2003. The six separate thefts from "pay and display" parking machines on five days happened after hours, when cash boxes were not supposed to be emptied, Ontario Court of Justice heard. David McLauchlan was the manager of security, parking and grounds at Trent at the time, but has since retired. The first time the problem arose was Feb 9, 2004, he testified. Court heard when the machine's cash box is removed, a cash "take slip" inside the machine is issued and falls into a receptacle. The person who removes the box is supposed to remove the slip. It was policy to check every day by inserting a coin, printing a ticket and making sure the date and time were correct, McLauchlan said. On Feb. 18, an employee checked the machine in the U parking lot on the east side of the Otonabee River but no ticket was issued. Thinking the machine was out of tickets, she returned the next day and a slip in the amount of $890.65 and dated Feb 17 fell out, court heard. The officer brought an empty coin box to exchange the one she thought was full, but found it empty. The boxes are emptied when they have $1,000 to $1,500 inside and a light indicates when it is full, court heard. Staff later found an "odd-looking" box in the cupboard of the security office which had a different handle and no writing on it. They had never seen it before, McLauchlan testified. The key to the cash boxes is stored in the office's safe, which Grims had the combination to, McLauchlan said. Robert Greenaway, a technical support worker with J.J. MacKay Canada Ltd., which supplied the parking machines, testified it takes one key to get to the cash box and another key to open it. Greenway said it would be extremely difficult to copy the keys which are made in Sweden. If keys are lost, the company replaces the lock rather than issuing new keys. Under cross-examination by lawyer Denis Lowry, Greenaway said machines sometimes need servicing and if they were defective people could get at the cash box. Greenaway, however, said the box wouldn’t release if it was defective. After an initial audit, six slips were not accounted for from May 9, June 14 and Sept. 29, 2003. Coins were missing from two machines on Feb. 16, 2004 and money was again missing from a machine the next day. The highest one-time theft was $890.65 and a total $2,977 was unaccounted for, court heard. Grims is charged with five counts of theft. He has pleaded not guilty. The Trial continues today. |
| Guilty plea halts theft trial for ex-Trent security guard By Alek Gazdic Peterborough Examiner - Friday May 14, 2005 - Page B2 A former Trent University security officer accused of stealing $2,977 from campus parking meter machines admitted the thefts yesterday. On what was supposed to be the second day of his trial, Rand Grims, 38, of Wintergreen Court pleaded guilty to one count of theft. The plea came after discussions between Grim's lawyer, Denis Lowry, and Crown attorney John Marsland, who amended five theft charges into one. Six thefts from the pay-and-display machines happened at various parking lots at the university between May 9, 2003 and Feb. 17, 2004, Ontario Court of Justice heard. Evidence from the first day of testimony Thursday was adopted. Court heard Grims was the only officer working when the thefts occurred after hours. The highest one-time theft was $890.65. When asked yesterday by Mr. Justice Ray Taillon if he used keys to remove the cash boxes and steal the coins, Grims said he did. Parking officials first became aware of the problem Feb. 19, 2004 when one machine didn’t issue a ticket when another security officer tested it. The officer later found a cash "take slip" in the amount of $890.65, but that money wasn't inside the cash box when it was to be emptied, court heard. An internal audit discovered six slips were missing and $2,977 was unaccounted for. Grims's fingerprint was later found on the front of a cash box sent to city police for forensic identification. Grims was charged with five counts of theft March 12, 2004. Four of his charges were stayed yesterday. He lost his job as a result of the incidents, Marsland said. Grims was supported in court by his wife and family. He is to return June 28 for sentencing. |
