Jail term for man on lam after 2012 crime spree

A former Niagara man who went on the lam in 2012 after committing a string of break ins across Niagara, only to run afoul of the law in western Canada, has finally answered for his crimes.

Robert Johnson, 39, pleaded guilty Friday in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to a number of charges including multiple counts of break and enter.

Court heard Johnson and an accomplice would stake out residences in St. Catharines and Thorold and, once they determined the home was empty, would park a van in the driveway. One man would stay in the vehicle while the second entered the home and stole property such as televisions and jewelry.

In one case, assistant Crown attorney Jacquie Strecansky told court, Johnson and another man entered North American Steel in Port Colborne and attempted to steal a steel casting.

The men tied a rope around the heavy item and attached it to the rear of a van and attempted to drag it from the site. The men had hoped to drag the piece to a scrap dealer and sell it.

The theft was interrupted when an employee confronted them.

Johnson moved out west while awaiting trial on the Niagara charges. While there, court was told, he amassed a number of convictions in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

He subsequently returned and was arrested on the outstanding charges in January. He has been in custody since his arrest.

Judge Tory Colvin gave Johnson credit for the time he had spent in pre-trial custody — the equivalent of almost an 11-month sentence — and imposed a sentence of a further 90 days behind bars.