An Estevan youth was taken into custody on Monday after being sentenced for several break and enters and thefts.
The youth is now an adult, but the crimes were committed before he turned 18 and, he was sentenced under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) in Estevan provincial court.
The youth pleaded guilty to six charges, including three break and enters, two involving homes and another involving a business in Stoughton. The remaining charges were for theft.
The Crown prosecutor noted the youth doesn't follow court orders and displays a "criminal attitude toward crime."
In a pre-sentence report, the youth was identified as a Level 4 to reoffend, which is on the higher end.
One of the charges stem from an incident in which the youth was at a friend's house. They found a key to the gun safe and removed a shotgun. The weapon was then put in a vehicle and was taken out of Estevan where the youth attempted to sell it for drugs.
The Crown noted the youth was unsuccessful in the sale, noting the charge is theft under $5,000, but because the target of the theft was a weapon and he was attempting to sell it, that is an aggravating factor.
Judge Karl Bazin said, "Although (he) has only had two previous sentencings, with today's as well, the offences basically come from the past two years where not much time passes until he reoffends. Particularly the break and enters that we're dealing with today show a total disrespect for other people's homes and businesses."
He said the youth has in the past not abided by non-custodial sentences, and because he has committed offences for which an adult could be sentenced to more than two years in prison, the youth is eligible to receive a jail sentence.
Defence was requesting a non-custodial sentence, while the Crown requested six months in open custody. The Crown noted open custody would allow the youth to address his drug and alcohol issues.
"Open custody would also address rehabilitation and give meaningful consequences for the offences," said Bazin, when giving his decision to sentence the youth to the six-month term in custody.
Under the rules of the YCJA, a youth must serve two-thirds of that sentence in custody, so for the final two months, the youth will serve a community term. After that, the youth will be under a 12-month probation order, resulting in a curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
There were also restitution orders of $1,410, $600 and $100.
In other court proceedings, a preliminary inquiry was held for Gerald Kanigan. The hearing dealt with Kanigan's charges of sexual interference and sexual assault. After the brief inquiry, Bazin decided there was enough evidence to proceed to trial, so the matter was adjourned to the Court of Queen's Bench for the trial.
