Stolen property nets jail time

A 30-year-old man should have found a better place to sleep off a bender than in a stolen pick-up truck.

Coaldale RCMP found Lance Edward Devine and another man passed out in the truck, which was sitting in a farmer’s field last April. The vehicle was one of two trucks that had been stolen overnight from an RV sales lot in Lethbridge. Police followed wheel tracks and found the second truck parked at the other end of the farmer’s field.

Devine pleaded guilty Friday in Lethbridge provincial court to two counts of possession of stolen property and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a previous court order that he abstain from consuming alcohol, and to one count of failing to attend court.

He also pleaded guilty to a single count of assault stemming from an incident at the Lethbridge homeless shelter last November in which he punched and struck another man during a dispute over another person. The 32-yearold victim, court was told, was lying on a bed cot at the time of the assault.

Devine was sentenced to 30 days jail on each of the other charges, which run concurrently with the sentence for assault. Devine, who appeared in court by closedcircuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, won’t serve any more time in jail, however, since he was given credit for 30 days he already spent in custody while waiting to deal with his charges.

Defence said Devine deals with “a lot of issues,” and has a trustee and a guardian to assist him. She said he often does well despite his difficulties, but occasionally has “incidents.”