Jail term for man who lead police on chase
A 24-year-old man who has an unenviable record of property offences stemming from an addiction to drugs should be given the opportunity to serve his jail sentence on weekends in order to give him a “taste of freedom,” a local lawyer said Tuesday.
Brandon Thomas, of St. Catharines, appeared in a Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Tuesday to answer to charges of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and assault police while resisting arrest.
The January 2016 incident left a Niagara Regional Police officer with a concussion and a shoulder injury.
Defence counsel John Lefurgey told Judge Richard Lococo to consider a sentence of 90 days behind bars, to be served on weekends.
“An intermittent sentence will give him an opportunity to transition into freedom,” the lawyer said. “He’ll be out during the week and then, on the weekend, get reminded that living the straight life is better than living the criminal life.”
Assistant Crown attorney Jacquie Strecansky argued a straight prison term in the 12-month range, minus the time Thomas had spent in pretrial custody, was a more appropriate disposition.
A pre-sentence report indicated Thomas starting drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana at the age of 12.
“Thereafter he graduated to more serious drugs such as cocaine and the opioid drugs,” Strecansky said.
An intermittent sentence will give him an opportunity to transition into freedom. He’ll be out during the week and then, on the weekend, get reminded that living the straight life is better than living the criminal life.” Defence counsel John Lefurgey
She said his drug addiction ‘was the impetus for much of his criminal activity.”
The judge agreed a straight sentence was appropriate and imposed a 10-month jail term.
Given credit for the amount of time spent in pretrial custody, the equivalent of 242 days, Thomas must serve an additional 60 days behind bars.
Court heard Thomas was arrested in early 2016 after a resident called 911 to report someone had broken into a garage in a residential area of west St. Catharines.
When a police officer arrived to investigate, Thomas led him on a foot chase, climbing fences and running through back yards.
At one point during the pursuit, the officer Tasered Thomas but it had no effect on him. He was later subdued after several other officers arrived to assist.
Court was told the first officer suffered a concussion and shoulder injury but it is not known if the injuries were the result of an altercation with the defendant or if he sustained them during the pursuit.