Markham councillor avoids criminal record
Depression blamed for health club iphone theft
Rookie Markham councillor and motivational speaker Howard Shore received an absolute discharge in Newmarket court after pleading guilty to possessing an iPhone stolen from a gym locker.
Shore’s lawyer, Edward Prutschi, told Justice Howard Chisvin on Friday that Shore continues to battle depression with the help of his psychiatrist and family doctor.
Outside the courtroom, Prutschi said mental illness can manifest itself in many ways, and “a lot of these ways don’t make sense to us.”
An absolute discharge means Shore is technically guilty but does not receive a criminal record.
Crown Attorney Paul Tait sought a conditional sentence and six months’ probation after Shore pleaded guilty in December to possession of property not worth over $5,000 that was obtained by an offence. The phone was worth $650.
Shore did not speak in his brief court appearance, and quickly brushed past reporters outside the courtroom. His case was heard in community treatment court, a special forum created for defendants with substance or mental health issues. Chisvin postponed passing a sentence after the guilty plea in December and again in February, when he heard a progress report on the councillor’s therapy. Prutschi presented paperwork he said shows Shore is successfully continuing with therapy and medication. In his earlier court appearances, Shore blamed depression for his actions.
Shore was nabbed in November 2011 as he tried to exit the health club with the phone in his bag, after its owner called the number and heard it buzz as Shore walked past.
This wasn’t the first time Shore has been in court for stealing a cellphone. In 2008, he was convicted in Florida of a taking a female lawyer’s phone and then stalking her. With files from Jennifer Yang