A man who used a stolen credit card at a Morinville restaurant, and had the means to make fraudulent cards, was sentenced to three months in jail.
Edmonton resident David McAree, 38, pleaded guilty to three fraud-related charges in Morinville Provincial Court June 2, including using a stolen credit card and possessing instruments for forging credit cards.
Judge Bruce Garriock said McAree’s record, including other fraud-related offences, was a significant factor in handing down the relatively lengthy sentence.
“We have a long, unenviable and to a great degree, related record,” he said. “Quite frankly, it begs the questions of when you are going to get the message?”
Crown prosecutor John Schmidt told court police were called to the Rednex bar in Morinville about 8:45 p.m. on April 15, 2016, where staff reported a man had tried to pay for his meal with a falsified prepaid credit card. He had left a black shoulder bag in the bar.
Police found him in another establishment nearby, and he was found with a stolen MasterCard and another falsified prepaid credit card.
In the bag McAree left at the bar, police found two phones and instruments that can be used to forge or falsify credit cards.
Schmidt conceded police searched that bag without a warrant, meaning defence lawyers could have argued at trial the evidence was inadmissible, but McAree nonetheless entered a guilty plea to that charge.
He argued a three-month sentence would be appropriate, given the recent and related criminal records – the most recent convictions for property offences were entered in April 2016.
Defence lawyer Agota Taborossi argued three months was too long, and suggested time served would be more reasonable. He had been in custody since April 15, which amounts to 73 days of time spent in pre-sentence custody when the typical 1.5-to-1 ratio is applied.
Garriock agreed with the Crown’s position, sentencing McAree to the full three months and leaving him with 17 days left to serve.
