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A 35-year-old man from Alexander First Nation will have to spend 10 months in jail for his part in a break-and-enter attempt in January.
Justice Gregory Arnold Rice handed down the sentence to Kelly Paul Morin, accepting a recommendation from the Crown after he pleaded guilty to break-and-enter to commit theft, disguised with intent and failing to comply with release conditions during a June 24 Barrhead Court of Justice session.
Morin will also have to submit to a DNA test as part of the sentence.
Rice also waived the $300 victim fine surcharge, saying it would be an unnecessary hardship.
The defence suggested seven months.
"As much as I empathize and my heart goes out to him, he has a very bad past. For this kind of offence, with a plan, stealing with that kind of value, given his criminal record, for the B and E alone, it should be a year. The Crown is on the generous side. It could have easily been 12 to 15 months," Rice said. "But because of his lower moral culpability, I think the Crown is spot on."
The facts
Crown prosecutor Matthew Kerr told the court that on the morning of Jan. 6, 2025, Barrhead RCMP responded to a report of two individuals attempting to break into a Busby area residence.
He said the residence's owner, who was at work at the time of the incident, learned about the attempted break-in remotely via his alarm video system.
Kerr said the property owner contacted his neighbour, who immediately went to the residence after calling the police.
He added the neighbours observed two intruders put items into a white Dodge flatbed, which was backed up to the residence's garage.
Kerr said that when the intruders then noticed they were being watched, they "leapt" into the truck, driving quickly down the driveway. They then swerved to attempt to get around the neighbour's vehicle, which they had parked strategically to block the driveway and got stuck in a ditch.
"At that point, the RCMP arrived and observed a male wearing a clown mask [later to be identified as Morin] exit the passenger side of the truck and was arrested," he said.
Kerr noted police also arrested the other suspect, who will stand trial separately on another date.
"The truck was loaded with a generator and a sandblaster," he said, adding police also found a second truck belonging to the property owner "running with its ignition drilled."
Kerr added the truck the accused used for the break-in was reported stolen from the Slave Lake area about a week prior.
"The door lock was damaged and the ignition drilled," he said, adding the estimated value of the truck is $15,000.
At the time of the offence, Morin was on house arrest for another charge.
Crown's sentencing position
The Crown said Morin has a lengthy criminal record with 21 convictions, including 11 property offences and four breach convections.
"Aggravating factors, this is rural property crime, which is a big problem in Alberta," he said.
On the mitigating side, Kerr credited Morin for his guilty pleas; although not an early plea, it still gave the court time to cancel witnesses and divert other resources.
"It is also a statement of taking responsibility and remorse," he said.
Kerr added that "on the face of it," the accused's moral culpability was high, calling the break-in "serious and moderately sophisticated," referring to Morin's attempt at disguising himself. However, he said, these are lessened by the challenges he faces, as listed in the pre-sentencing Gladue report.
A Gladue report is a pre-sentencing report that courts can use when considering the multitude of factors that can lead an Indigenous person to become in conflict with the law.
The defence
Morin's lawyer, Richard Forbes, argued seven months’ incarceration would be a more fitting sentence.
He added that once released, Morin would return to Fawcett, where he has the support of his partner of eight years.
Forbes said his client has been diagnosed with multiple mental disorders, including schizophrenia.
"He has been on and off prescriptions, and they are still struggling to find the right combination that will help treat the schizophrenia without other side effects. It was something he was working on as part of his release order in January," he said, adding that was the first time his client had seen a proper psychiatrist.
Forbes also talked about the difficulties Morin has had during his incarceration, including being hospitalized with pneumonia.
"He was in a coma for a couple of weeks at the University of Alberta hospital," he said.
