One man is heading to jail after providing false identification upon entering Canada at the North Portal Port of Entry in 2012.
Estevan provincial court proceedings on Monday saw sentencing for Marcel Allary in the matter.
On Sept. 7 at 3 a.m., Allary was travelling with a group of people from the United States looking to enter the country. There were a number of people in the pick-up truck, and when they arrived at the port, were asked to exit the vehicle and head into the office to provide documentation while the vehicle was searched.
When a Canadian Border Services Agency officer looked under the tarp in the back of the truck, they saw some blankets move. Allary was underneath the blankets and told the officer he had been sleeping.
Allary was asked to go into the office and provide documentation. He produced a birth certificate for Tyson Dayman, born in 1984, though Allary is 38 years old.
The officer questioned Allary about how to spell the last name on the provided birth certificate, and that's when he told officer the identification was not really his.
The federal Crown prosecutor noted the maximum sentence for the charges was 14 years in jail, though he added that there were no aggravating factors and Allary immediately came clean about the improper ID.
The Crown added that it is still a serious crime.
"It sounds like an innocuous thing in many respects, but it's not," he said. "There is an obligation on people to tell the CBSA who they are. Depriving the authorities of the opportunity to assess who is coming and going in our country is a serious offence."
It was unclear exactly how Allary came by the birth certificate, but it does belong to an actual person.
Allary's criminal record in Canada dates from 1994 to 2007, and there had been a break in convictions until 2011 when he had charges involving impersonation.
The Crown and defence agreed to Allary serving 30 days in jail and presented that sentence to Judge Karl Bazin.
Bazin accepted the submissions and Allary was taken into custody.
In other court proceedings, Davin McConnell pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 and was handed a 15-month conditional sentence order.
McConnell was at an acquaintance's house on May 8 last year. He had just met the female victim that day and had been drinking. While at her house, he took the keys to her car and after excusing himself to go to the bathroom, started the victim's 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt and drove off.
He was pulled over and arrested near Milestone.
McConnell admitted to stealing the car and then driving on back roads to avoid the police.
McConnell's criminal record dates back to between 2002 and 2008, and the charges include property offences and theft under $5,000.
A victim impact statement was filed by the Crown and it noted how the incident has shaken the victim's trust in other people.
The victim also needed to have the vehicle towed back to her house, so McConnell must pay $102.90 in restitution to cover that cost.
As part of the 15-month conditional sentence order, McConnell must abide by a curfew of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the first four months, not have any contact with the victim and seek any necessary counselling or assessments.
