Six months in jail for man who threatened the public online

A six-month sentence was handed down Thursday to a Medicine Hat man who made threats online.

Shane Merkl, 25, entered guilty pleas to uttering death threats and mischief following an Jan. 20 incident where he made concerning posts to social media that were reported to police.

“This was bad,” judge Eric Brooks said during sentencing. “You didn’t just threaten an individual, or a group of people ... you threatened the entire community.”

Crown, defence and the judge all agreed the whole situation was one where mental health issues were involved.

Both Crown and defence counsel commented on how, since being in custody and being on medication, they have seen a significant improvement in Merkl.

But Merkl told the court it can be difficult to keep up with his medication, especially when on the streets.

Merkl has 75 days left to serve in his sentence, due to credit granted as he’s been in custody since the incident.

Property crime

It was 60 days time served for a Medicine Hat man who pled guilty to possession of stolen property, fraud under $5,000 and a failure to appear in court.

Shane Yanke pled guilty to using a stolen Purolator slip to pick up $900 worth of cannabis oil. For the stolen property charge, it’s alleged that a man’s luggage was stolen from a lobby while he was moving out — the man was later contacted by Yanke saying he could give him back the items. The victim contacted police instead, and Yanke was charged.