Blake Ellis/The Independent

An Oil Springs man has been ordered to pay $26,000 in restitution after a three month crime spree in Lambton and Middlesex counties.

Jacob Tessier plead guilty to 16 charges including theft, possessing break and enter tools, failing to stop for police, failing to remain at the scene of an accident and mischief Tuesday after incidents in Brooke-Alvinston, Enniskillen, Strathroy, Forest and Sarnia.

Tessier’s crime spree began Dec. 31, 2019 when Tessier was seen leaving a home in Strathroy at 3:30 am where police suspected drugs were being sold.
OPP attempted to stop the vehicle Tessier was driving but he fled.

The chase was called off as he was driving erratically. Tessier was finally arrested when the vehicle came to a T-intersection and drove into a farmer’s field where the vehicle hit a culvert.

Tessier and his passenger were seen running from the vehicle. Police had to use a taser to subdue him.

On Jan 22, 2020, Tessier stole a 1995 Dodge Ram from Lambton Chrysler on Petrolia Line in Enniskillen. OPP found the vehicle the next day at the Canadian Tire in Forest. Tessier had driven to Forest and had stolen bolt cutters at the store.
Tessier’s string of crimes continued in March.

Using another stolen truck, video cameras caught Tessier smashing through a gate at Mellon Electrical Contractors March 14. He stole a utility trailer and struck a pickup on his way out.

Tessier admitted stealing using the stolen truck and trailer to take an ATV and three chainsaws from a locked shed on Churchill Line in Enniskillen on March 17. He also stole gas, a radio and a helmet from a farm on Shiloh Line in Brooke-Alvinston that day.

On March 21, he stole gas from Petro Canada for the stolen truck on Indian Road in Sarnia before the spree came to an end the next day, with an accident, which involved the pickup truck in Wallaceburg. The stolen Yamaha ATV was being hauled by the pickup at the time.

Court heard Tuesday that Tessier has struggled with crystal meth addiction since he was 12. He wants to go to a drug rehabilitation program when he is released.

Tessier apologized for his actions, explaining this behavior was “fueled by my addiction.”

He was sentenced to 27 months and 12 days in prison but will serve no extra time in jail because he has already served his sentence since he was in custody 18 months leading up to his guilty plea.

Tessier was also placed on probation for two years and will have to pay restitution of over $26,000 to those affected by his thefts.

He’s also prohibited from driving for three years.