1 of the men who stole a van with a non-verbal adult inside sentenced to 30 months

One of the men who stole a van with a non-verbal adult in the back in Edmonton last October, causing an Amber Alert to be issued, has been sentenced.

On Monday, Dakota James Hughes, 26, was sentenced to 30 months, less 13 months for time served, for his role in the crime.

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On Oct. 19, Hughes and Jacob Lloyd Chambers stole a white 2013 Toyota Sienna minivan that was parked at 118 Avenue and 91 Street.

A non-verbal woman in a wheelchair was strapped in the back of the van, which was left running and unlocked while the woman's caretaker went into a store.

An Amber Alert was issued because the woman is considered vulnerable.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the pair did not realize the woman was in the back of the van for approximately 45 minutes after the theft, at which point they were outside the city.

Hughes testified they drove the van to a residential development in Fort Saskatchewan where they left it locked and running so the woman wouldn't freeze and so no one else could steal the van.

Emergency crews found the van shortly after it was abandoned and the woman was taken to hospital as a precaution.

She did not suffer any lasting physical injuries.

At the sentencing hearing, court heard victim impact statements from the victim's mother and caretaker.

The victim's mother said she has "struggled to cope with the anxiety" since the incident.

"Fear and anxiety that it may happen again weigh heavily on my mind," she said in a statement read by the Crown.

The victim's caretaker, who is originally from Colombia, tearfully read her own statement, telling the court she no longer feels safe in Canada.

As part of a Gladue report, court heard Hughes spent his youth in foster care until he aged out of the system.

He has never met his biological mother, and does not have a relationship with his biological father.

When given the opportunity to speak, he expressed remorse.

"I shouldn’t have done it," he told the judge.

"I don’t feel good for what happened. It shouldn’t have happened, but I’m here now."

Hughes previously pleaded guilty to theft of a vehicle and unlawful confinement.

The judge said the caretaker had made an error in judgement when she left the vehicle running and unlocked, but acknowledged "a person is entitled to expect that their property isn’t going to be taken when they make an error in judgement."

He gave Hughes credit for pleading guilty and leaving the van locked in a safe place, but added that what would otherwise have been considered a fairly minor crime was made much more complicated by the fact that a person with disabilities was involved.

"When you do commit crime, even though it’s not planned that it would escalate, you take what you get."

As part of a joint submission Hughes was sentenced to 12 months for theft of motor vehicle and 18 months to be served consecutively for unlawful confinement.

With time served, he has 17 months left on his sentence.

He was also handed a five-year weapons prohibition and has been ordered to submit his DNA to the federal registry.

Chambers was also previously handed a 33-month sentence in the case.

The two men have each been ordered to pay $3,885.76 in restitution to the victim's caretaker.