Man who stole mobility stroller jailed
Stroller was ‘safe place’ for St. Catharines boy with autism
A 44-year-old man with mental-health struggles, who stole a mobility stroller belonging to a young boy with autism, has been sentenced to six months behind bars.
“I’m very mindful of the fact that incarceration of people with mental-health problems often exacerbates the mentalhealth problems,” Judge Cameron Watson said in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines Thursday.
“However, with this man’s criminal record, simply turning him out into the community at this point would endanger the community.”
The judge said Kristian Smith had an “atrocious record,” citing the man’s previous convictions for multiple robberies, thefts, uttering threats and “years of BNEs.”
Smith, who pleaded guilty to several offences including theft, appeared in court via teleconference from Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold and begged the judge to release him.
“As much as I’m sympathetic to this man having serious mental-health problems, and him wishing to go crime-free, I highly doubt he’ll be able to do so,” Watson said.
Court heard Smith stole a mobility stroller from the porch of a St. Catharines home on Sept. 25. The theft was captured on a neighbour’s video surveillance system. The stroller belonged to eight-year-old Xavier.
His grandmother, Lori Patterson, said the young boy has autism and the stroller was a “safe place,” where he could retreat when they went out and the world around him overloaded his senses.
Patterson said her grandson was heartbroken, and basically left housebound, by the brazen theft.
Following the theft, the family launched a GoFundMe campaign in order to raise funds to purchase a new specialized stroller, which can cost up to $3,500.
After the story appeared in the media, pledges came in rapidly in support of the family.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik visited the family, accompanied by an anonymous donor who offered several hundred dollars to reach a $3,500 goal. Another donor offered the use of a used stroller until a new one arrived.
The original stroller was never recovered.
In court, defence counsel Jeffrey Root said his client does not know where the stroller ended up.
“He doesn’t know where it is or what happened to it,” he said, adding the offender would never be in a position to pay restitution as he’s “basically unemployable.”
In an unrelated case, Smith was arrested Oct. 2 after a paramedic called 911 to report a man had threatened to shoot him.
Court heard paramedics were transporting a patient from Gale Crescent in St. Catharines when they were flagged down by Smith.
A paramedic told the defendant they were unable to assist him as they had a patient in the back of the ambulance. Smith then threatened to shoot the paramedic.
Police were called to the area and found the man about a block away.
Officers observed what appeared to be a pistol grip from a handgun inside an improvised holster under the man’s arm.
“Police, believing they could be dealing with a real firearm, conducted a gunpoint arrest of Mr. Smith and seized what turned out to be a very realistic looking BB gun,” said assistant Crown attorney Grace Pang.
No injuries were reported.