A man learned a “heck of a lesson” after being jailed over Christmas while awaiting a court appearance.
Cody James Beaudoin pleaded guilty to one count of breaching probation when he appeared in St. Albert Provincial Court Monday via closed-circuit television. An additional charge of breaching probation as well as a drug possession charge were withdrawn by the Crown.
Crown prosecutor Douglas Taylor said that on Dec. 24, the police received a complaint about Beaudoin and a request that an officer remove him from the apartment where he was living.
Taylor said Beaudoin was put on probation in November for taking a motor vehicle without consent. One of the conditions of his probation was to not consume or possess alcohol or illegal drugs.
On Christmas Eve, police attended the apartment and located Beaudoin in the kitchen. Another occupant of the apartment notified them Beaudoin had alcohol and drugs in his room. Police found a small amount of cannabis on the floor.
Beaudoin said he acknowledged possession but hadn’t consumed anything.
“I almost don’t care what he says because there is a very strong inference they’re (drugs and alcohol) possessed for a reason,” Taylor said.
Taylor noted Beaudoin had learned a “heck of a lesson” after serving seven days including Christmas. He suggested time served would be sufficient.
Judge Bruce Garriock went along with that suggestion and sentenced Beaudoin to seven days in jail, satisfied by time served.
An early morning stroll in the middle of St. Albert Trail after drinking led to a woman landing 45 days of jail time.
Deborah Lynn Houle, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to failing to comply with an undertaking. She appeared via closed-circuit television as she was already serving jail time for a different offence.
Taylor said Houle had been arrested in Desmarais on Oct. 10, 2013 and secured her release by entering into an undertaking with a police officer. There were a number of conditions Houle was to follow, including not consuming or possessing alcohol or illegal substances.
On Nov. 21 at about 1:45 a.m., the RCMP received a complaint of two people walking in the middle of St. Albert Trail, disrupting traffic.
When officers arrived at the scene they found the pair trying to hitchhike. An officer noted to Houle she had the smell of liquor on her breath, and she said she’d consumed alcohol. She also had glassy, bloodshot eyes, Taylor said.
When the officer checked, he discovered the undertaking she was under and arrested her for failing to comply.
Taylor read out some of Houle’s prior criminal record, which included convictions for the same offence twice in 2013 and once in 2011.
“She’s not a first offender, she’s got a history of this,” Taylor said.
He suggested jail time, but noted the sentences given to Houle for the same offence already in 2013 – 60 days and 55 days – were in the high range of standard sentences for that particular crime.
“This lady’s been whacked pretty hard by the court for this offence,” Taylor said.
Duty counsel Mac Walker said Houle told him she returns to drinking when she goes back to visit the Wabasca reserve.
“Her record itself indicates alcohol issues and that’s what she’s advised me,” Walker said.
Walker said Houle is hoping to live in Edmonton and start school. Houle is able to stay out of trouble in Edmonton, he said.
“Not withstanding her record I’d ask you to consider not sending her to jail,” Walker said, suggesting probation or a fine.
Taylor noted that Houle was in St. Albert and not the Wabasca reserve at the time of the offence.
“She was in St. Albert where I would suggest it’s easier to stay out of trouble [than Edmonton],” Taylor said.
That’s a point Garriock said he also noted.
“You being able to stay out of trouble flies in the face of what actually happened,” Garriock said.
The judge didn’t believe the sentence needed to be higher than her previous turns and agreed to let her serve the jail time concurrently with the sentence she is already serving. He sentenced her to 45 days.
