Manheaded to prison for three years

City man pleads guilty to six counts of housebreaking

A 29-year-old Lethbridge man will spend some time in a federal penitentiary after admitting he broke into several homes and took a friend’s vehicle earlier this year.

Joshua Anthony Woodruff pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court to six counts of housebreaking and commit theft and one count of taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison. He was, however, credited for the equivalent of 80 days he had already spent in custody.

Court was told Woodruff broke into six Lethbridge homes, most of them on the westside, between June 13 and 27. During the break-ins he stole jewelry, electronics, gift cards, personal identification, a truck key and cash, including foreign currency. Some of the items had been pawned “by a third party,” explained Crown prosecutor Vaughan Hartigan.

Many of the items were later recovered, Hartigan pointed out, including the vehicle which Woodruff took from a friend, who had previously refused to lend it to him. Woodruff was sentenced to 30 days custody for taking the vehicle, which he will serve concurrently with the federal sentence.

Hartigan noted that Woodruff, who appeared in court by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, has a lengthy criminal record, which includes numerous convictions for break-ins and possession of stolen property.

In addition to the sentence, Woodruff was ordered to submit a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Databank. He must also pay one of his victims $1,500, which is the homeowner’s insurance deductible for a window Woodruff broke. The homeowner also wanted Woodruff to pay for a new security system that was installed after the break-in, plus maintenance costs of the system for the next 20 years. The court refused to make that order, however.

“I’m quite embarrassed to be back here,” Woodruff said after judge J. Maher asked if he had anything to say.

“Well, it’s up to you to do something about it,” Maher responded.

A 24-year-old woman is also charged in connection to the break-ins.

Taylor Christine Sander, 24, of Milk River, is charged with five counts of housebreaking and commit theft and one count of theft of a motor vehicle. Her matters are still before the court.