A man arrested with 27 grams of marijuana avoided drug charges this week but pleaded guilty to obstructing justice.
Luke William Morin, 19, was originally charged with two counts of drug possession, but pleaded guilty to obstruction instead and was given a nine-month conditional discharge.
Morin was pulled over Feb. 1 at around 11 p.m. during a traffic stop and the officer smelled marijuana. He asked Morin if there was any in the car and he said no. The officer searched the vehicle and found the 27 grams inside.
Morin was charged with obstruction of justice for lying to the officer about the presence of the drugs.
The discharge will require Morin to complete 40 hours of community service, attend any counselling recommended to him and have no possession of illegal drugs.
If he follows those conditions he will have no criminal record.
A simple phone call about a bill payment cost a man more than two weeks of freedom.
Darryl Donald Sargent pleaded guilty to one count of breaching his bail conditions and was sentenced to the time he had already served in jail.
Sargent was free on bail stemming from charges of assault and uttering threats. One requirement was that he not have contact with a specific woman.
He called the woman about a payment for a truck simply to find out how it was paid. The woman called the police and Sargent was arrested.
In court Monday, Crown Prosecutor Jeff Morrison said the call, which was placed on May 22, was not harassing in nature and it appears Sargent simply didn’t realize this would be a breach of the condition.
Sargent was held without bail because of the breach and because of the Victoria Day weekend, the first available court day would have been May 31.
Judge Leo Burgess said the time served was more than ample for such an offence.
Reasonably good intentions were not good enough for one man who pleaded guilty to a traffic offence and a breach of his bail conditions.
Ross Vincent Alook pleaded guilty and received more than $500 in fines.
Police were called on May 21 to a hit-and-run accident. They found the reported car and pulled it over. They discovered a young woman behind the wheel with Alook in the passenger seat.
Alook was drunk, in violation of conditions that he not consume alcohol. He had instructed the young woman, who did not have a licence, to drive.
Crown prosecutor Jeff Morrison said Alook was trying to avoid drinking and driving, a good idea, but hadn’t thought it all through.
“He was trying to do the right thing. He just made a mess of it.”
Alook’s fines included $345 for breaching his conditions and $230 for the traffic offence of allowing an unlicensed person to drive.
