An Estevan man was sentenced on Monday following guilty pleas to a number of charges from the past year. William Curtis was in custody after an arrest last Friday. He entered guilty pleas to charges of theft, forgery, unsafe storage of firearms and escaping police custody after he fled a couple of blocks when being taken in to the police station on his most recent arrest. He was picked up and returned to Estevan Police Service immediately.
He was charged with unsafe storage of two firearms after police executed a search warrant on his residence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. He was living with roommates and wasn't a subject of the drug search, but police found the firearms, which are registered to Curtis's father, while they were there.
The theft charge stems from incident in January when he stole a 42-inch television from Audio Video Unlimited in Estevan. He then sold the TV to support a drug habit, and it has not yet been recovered.
In September, he was charged with forgery after altering a prescription for hydromorph contin. Curtis took the prescription to Pharmasave and changed how long the prescription should last from two days to 12 days. The pharmacist noticed the forgery and called the police who arrested Curtis when he came back to pick up the prescription.
Curtis told the court that he had a prescription for a daily dose of the drug, but had to get it prescribed by his doctor every couple of days. He made the change so he wouldn't have to constantly go see the doctor, who he was already having trouble seeing.
Judge Karl Bazin suspended sentence on Curtis and ordered an 18-month probation period for the theft and forgery charges. Conditions are that he not consume alcohol or non-prescription drugs, provide samples of his breath, blood or urine upon request, and attend any programming or treatment for alcohol and substance abuse. He was sentenced to time served for his escape from custody and unlawful storage of firearms.
In other proceedings, a youth who was in custody pleaded guilty to theft and possession of a controlled substance. He was remanded in custody until sentencing on Nov. 24.
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A woman from the White Bear First Nation was released from custody during Thursday's court proceedings, having been held in remand since the middle of September.
Forty-five-year-old Germaine Akachuk has been charged with aggravated assault, after police allege that she stabbed a 67-year-old man with whom she had been having a relationship. A show-cause hearing has been held now that a psychiatric evaluation has been completed as ordered by the court.
Bazin ordered her release from custody into an undertaking, with the conditions that she have no contact with the victim, abstain from alcohol and non-prescription drugs, reside at her sister's house at White Bear and be out of her residence only under the presence of her sister or another person approved by the bail supervision officer. Akachuk's next court date is Dec. 5.
A show-cause hearing was also held for a 14-year-old youth who has been charged with theft, mischief and arson. The youth was originally arrested and released on conditions on Oct. 5, but was arrested again after an incident last week in which the Crown alleges that those conditions were breached.
After the show-cause hearing, the youth was released from custody. He had a curfew condition from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. after his prior release but the condition was amended to between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., following the alleged breach. His next court appearance is Nov. 28.
A 14-year-old co-accused who is also charged with arson was in custody as well, but he was remanded with no show-cause and will return to court Nov. 10.
In other court proceedings, the matter of a forfeiture of a car in relation to drug trafficking was resolved. Greg Beston of Regina had pleaded and was sentenced for trafficking drugs, and the Crown was requesting the forfeiture of Beston's car, which was used in the drug deal. Beston's father, Dennis, however, had been a co-owner of the vehicle, having helped to pay the down payment on the vehicle when it was bought last December. After Greg pleaded guilty, Dennis bought out the interest in the vehicle held by the Bank of Montreal, to the tune of $27,932. He requested that the car be released into his ownership.
Bazin determined that Dennis was "entitled to the lawful possession of the car" as an innocent third-party owner.
An Edmonton man, Jared Douglas Olson, pleaded guilty last Thursday to charges of aiding a person trying to enter Canada unlawfully, under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
He had picked up his girlfriend from Indiana, who was planning on moving in with him in Edmonton, but they were stopped and not allowed entry at the North Portal border station. They attempted to enter Canada three times in 16 hours from Jan. 28 to 29, but each time the woman was found to be inadmissible. The border guards informed the pair of what changes were needed for her to access the country.
On Jan. 30, Olson attempted to get back into Canada without his girlfriend. He told guards he left the woman in Fargo, N.D. and that he had some of her stuff, but he was going to ship it back to her in Indiana. Items he had included her birth certificate and laptop. Guards searched his laptop and found Internet search histories from the last couple of days that were about how to get unauthorized access to Canada and about hidden motion sensors at the border. Olson then told border guards he dropped the woman off and was going to pick her up on the Canadian side.
Crown prosecutor Mitch Crumley told the judge there are rules in place to monitor who enters Canada, and why, as it is the longest undefended border in the world.
"There is a risk to the public, and that's why there is a serious penalty in order to maintain Canadian border integrity," he said. The maximum penalty is a $10,000 fine.
Bazin sentenced Olson to pay a fine of $2,500.
