A Drumheller man has pleaded guilty to attempted theft after a brazen daylight attempt to steal VLT funds, which was thwarted by a local senior.
Kyle Ohlhauser, 33, appeared in provincial court in Drumheller via closed circuit television on Friday, December 16. He maintained a not-guilty plea to a charge of robbery, but instead pleaded guilty to attempted theft.
The court heard how on October 18, 2021, two masked men entered Yavis Restaurant and demanded the VLT key from the manager. The manager told the culprits the police were in the building.
There was also an attempt to take cash from the till.
The two fled the scene, chased by the manager and senior patron of the establishment. One culprit was restrained by the interveners and held until the police arrived.
Ohlhauser was later arrested. He admitted to the attempt to take cash from the VLT funds.
The submission came to Judge William as a joint submission from the Crown and defence as there were triable issues, with a significant hurdle on identification.
They recommended a sentence of 60 days followed by nine months of probation.
The court heard Ohlhauser has significant substance abuse issues and has been clean since he has been in custody. He was actively arranging for a space in a residential treatment program.
The judge accepted the joint submission, and the 60-day sentence was satisfied by the 90 days credit for pretrial custody.
She also recommended residential treatment in the sentence to assist Ohlhauser in being able to secure a spot.

Dalum Community Hall Association has made great strides fundraising towards building a new playground in the community.
Wheatland County Division 7 Councillor Rick Laursen shared with fellow members of council during the regular Tuesday, December 6 council meeting, the association is looking for support to apply for the Alberta Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant.
“They’ve currently, on their own, raised $80,000 in donations from the community, local businesses, and Wheatland County,” Councillor Laursen stated during the meeting.
In July 2022, the Mail reported the association had set a fundraising goal of $100,000 to build a new playground, though had not placed any timelines for this goal.
The association could receive matching funding through the CFEP grant to support this development if successful.
Wheatland County approved the request to provide a letter of support for the association’s grant application.