KAMLOOPS, B.C. — He fed the cats, prepared a meal, shaved, showered and even took meat out of the freezer to thaw.
The only problem? Christopher Hiscock, 33, was not at home and didn't know the owners of a ranch where he became a bit too comfortable.
The Nova Scotia man pleaded guilty Monday to possession of stolen property and being unlawfully in a dwelling house stemming from a bizarre incident north of Kamloops, B.C.
Provincial court heard the residents of a ranch in Little Fort on the Yellowhead Highway returned home after a night out last week to find a stranger sitting on their couch with a cup of coffee.
“She found the accused in her home watching TV,” Crown lawyer Mike Wong said.
“He had started a fire in the fireplace and prepared himself a meal. He said he had been driving by and the door was open, so he came in.
Hiscock had also helped himself to a truck in Ontario on his way to British Columbia, court heard.
“The accused appears to have done some laundry. He also fed the cats and put out some hay for the horses,” Wong said. “He used (the residents') toothbrush and shaver, he had taken some meat out of the freezer to thaw and he had written in their diary.”
"Today was my first full day at the ranch," he wrote in the diary. "I fed the cats and horses. So much I can do here I have to remind myself to just relax and take my time.
"I don’t feel alone here, I guess with 2 cats and 3 horses it’s kinda hard to be alone. Last night I had a fire in the house. It was so (peaceful). I slept like a little baby.
I saw a picture in the basement on the wall of a man holding and weighing fish on a boat. Looking at him I realized we look a lot alike, but I think I’m more handsome."
The residents flagged down a passing police car and Hiscock was taken into custody.
Hiscock’s journey to B.C. started in his home province of Nova Scotia earlier this month. Court heard he drove his car from Nova Scotia to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., where he stole a truck and headed west.
The stolen truck, which went missing on Sept. 16, was found on the Little Fort property.
Defence lawyer Sheldon Tate said Hiscock had been working seasonally for a swimming pool company but, sensing he would be laid off, decided to travel west in search of work.
“He quickly found that his funds were less than adequate and that led him to using the vehicle from Sault Ste. Marie to get out here,” Tate said. “By the time he got to B.C., you can imagine, he was without any funds at all and he saw an unoccupied home.”
Hiscock, who has no prior criminal record, apologized in court.
“I made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “There’s really no excuses for it.”
He was still beaming about his brief stay at the ranch.
“Beautiful ranch,” he said. “Gorgeous. I was driving and I just turned in. Beautiful place.”
Judge Chris Cleaveley placed Hiscock on a one-year probation term with orders barring him from contacting the residents of the ranch and the owner of the Ontario truck.
Hiscock will also have to surrender a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database.
"I really have nowhere to go," he said, when Cleaveley asked about his plans.
“The woods is a good place, I suppose. There’s a lot of fish out there.”
