Sentencing delayed in case of multiple B & Es

Sentencing was delayed until Monday for a man who pled guilty to multiple rural break-and-enter charges stemming back to 2014.

Cole Rath was arrested by Redcliff RCMP Nov. 23, 2014, and charged with multiple counts of break and enter in Cypress County. City police then charged Rath in connection to a break and enter at a Medicine Hat storage facility. The incidents involved tens of thousands of dollars in goods.

Also arrested was Kurtis Baumgardt, who was sentenced in October to two years in jail for oxycodine trafficking and the string of break and enters.

Rath originally entered not-guilty pleas in March to the allegations but changed his plea in October to guilty. A presentencing report was ordered, with Rath also working toward restitution.

Sentencing was originally set to take place Feb. 7 but was adjourned to Wednesday, with defence counsel requesting it be pushed back to Monday, in Courtroom 7.

Time served

It was 45 days time served for a Medicine Hat man who entered guilty pleas to various charges.

Skylar Darr pled guilty to one count of fraud after cashing a cheque for $110 that didn’t belong to him at a local payday loan business. He also failed twice to report to police as required by his release conditions. Another guilty plea was entered to possessing stolen property after he and another man were found going through donation baskets at the REDI depot — his co-accused was found to have a throwing star on him, while Darr was found in possession of an 1897 silver dollar, whose owner was later located in Saskatchewan. Darr also pled guilty to shoplifting a Smith and Wessons knife and flashlight from the local Canadian Tire.

Adjournment

Sentencing — or an application to withdraw a guilty plea — was adjourned to April 5, as a man in custody searches for a new lawyer.

Benjamin Oscar Adam appeared by CCTV from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre to ask for the adjournment.

Adam originally entered guilty pleas in early March to stealing items from Canadian Tire, failing to comply to a nocontact order with a women he had previously been in a relationship with, and obstructing and resisting police when they went to arrest him for this breach.

An agreed statement of facts was read into the record concerning the incidents but when the judge began asking questions over Adam’s criminal record, the victim’s safety, and if this was a case of serial abuse — Adam said there was no proof of his actions against the woman, and he wanted to withdraw his guilty pleas. His lawyer withdrew from the record.