One of two suspects charged in a vehicle theft case on the outskirts of North Battleford Dec. 8 will serve his time in a federal penitentiary.
Matthew MacDonald, of Lacombe, Alta., appeared by CCTV in provincial court in North Battleford Thursday. He pled guilty to theft of a motor vehicle and possession of stolen property charges, as well as a breach of probation count.
One other count was withdrawn and a stay was issued on another property offence from the Swift Current area.
MacDonald was sentenced by Judge Dan O’Hanlon to serve exactly two years on the first two charges, as well as six months concurrent on the breach charge. MacDonald is current serving time in Alberta on a separate breach of probation charge there. A stand-alone restitution order of $1,000 as well as victims surcharges were also ordered.
The case highlighted the issues that rural residents are facing in dealing with crime on their properties. In this particular case, the attempt by the two suspects to steal the property was foiled by witnesses on the scene, who prevented the two individuals from leaving the scene.
According to the facts outlined in court, the accused individuals had pulled into a farm located east of North Battleford near highway 40, in a red stolen truck from Alberta. According to the facts, it was MacDonald who then jumped out and got into one of the other vehicles at the scene, and tried to escape.
One of the witnesses at the scene backed into the approach to cut off the escape route, and the vehicle MacDonald was driving ended up in the ditch.
The co-accused, Joanne Henke, was described in the facts as having also attempted to flee, but the stolen vehicle she was driving collided with another vehicle, and soon after spun into the ditch.
Henke, who is also in custody, appeared in court by CCTV right after MacDonald’s appearance and her charges are still before the courts. Her next court date is set for Jan. 31, also in North Battleford provincial court by CCTV.
Both the Crown and defence agreed to a joint submission in the case. The request from counsel, as well as from the accused, was for MacDonald to serve time in the federal system where he is better able to access programming to deal with his drug addictions.
MacDonald’s drug issues were cited as a major factor in this particular case. The defence acknowledged that drugs were a major problem, and that meth has been a particular problem for two years.
The persistence shown by MacDonald in attempting to get away was an aggravating factor, according to the Crown. The crime was described as brazen in nature, happening in the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight.
The climate in the community, where the issue of criminal activities happening in rural areas where people feel the need to defend themselves, was also highlighted by the Crown. Judge O’Hanlon also acknowledged in his remarks that there have been problems in the North Battleford area with offences in rural areas.
On the flip side, mitigating factors include the early guilty plea as well as MacDonald’s willingness to accept responsibility
“I apologize for being here,” said MacDonald in his remarks. “I’m 100 per cent guilty of what I did.”
For his part, Judge O’Hanlon told MacDonald to “make the effort to deal with your drug addiction.”
O’Hanlon urged him to start the process in the federal system.
