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A Calgary police officer admitted to stealing more than $21,000 in items from Home Depot stores in the city and surrounding areas.
On Thursday, Const. Bradley Tepper, 53, pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 before Justice Kristin Fahlman after negotiations between defence lawyer Cory Wilson and Edmonton prosecutor Euan Gilmour.
Tepper, a 20-year veteran of the police service, admitted that between July 2024 and August 2025, he committed what’s known in the retail industry as “double walk-out thefts” at five different stores.
The scam involved legally buying a tool, storing it in his car, and then immediately returning to the store to steal a second, identical item within minutes.
According to a brief synopsis of the facts of the crime read aloud at Thursday’s hearing, if stopped by a sales associate, Tepper would show the receipt from the legal purchase.
Later, and often at a different Home Depot store, Tepper would return the first tool, keeping the second one.
When police first announced charges, they said the investigation began in August 2025 following a complaint about “fraudulent activity and multiple thefts” from hardware stores in and around the city.
A pre-sentence report has been ordered ahead of a sentencing hearing, expected to take place later this year.
The Calgary Police Service says Tepper is currently suspended without pay.