A man got an unusual birthday present for this 24th birthday on Monday – nearly five months in jail.
Devon Madsen appeared via closed-circuit television from the Edmonton Remand Centre in St. Albert court and pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property exceeding $5,000 and failing to comply with the conditions of his probation.
Madsen was charged in connection with a stolen SUV reported on June 23. When St. Albert RCMP arrived at the scene around 2 a.m. the SUV fled and drove onto a walking path in a residential neighbourhood. Two of the vehicle’s occupants fled into the bush but were eventually tracked down after a brief altercation with officers.
Defence counsel Khurram Bokhari told the court Madsen called a friend to pick him up at his mother’s house earlier that evening. Although initially he didn’t realize the vehicle had been stolen, Madsen failed to take action when he did find out.
At the time of the arrest the 24-year-old was bound by a probation order for a charge of possession of stolen property exceeding $5,000. Madsen’s past criminal convictions include escaping from lawful custody as well as impaired driving. He has been in custody since his arrest.
Deputy Chief Judge Allan Lefever handed down a 60-day sentence for the possession of stolen property charge – with credit for time served – and 45 days for the breach of probation. Lefever denied Madsen’s request to serve time intermittently.
A charge of resisting a peace officer was withdrawn.
Filling and flying did not work out for one woman, as video surveillance caught her in the act.
Corrie Frances Mills pleaded guilty to property mischief in court Monday. On Feb. 28 she was caught siphoning gas from a truck, subsequently damaging the vehicle and flooding a portion of the parkade behind Grandin mall with gasoline in the process.
Mills’ defence counsel from Student Legal Services described the 30-year-old single mother’s financial situation as “extremely precarious” and that her motivations for stealing gasoline were out of financial necessity. However Mills stuck to her own story – she thought the vehicle was leaking gasoline and her curiosity got the better of her.
Mills was handed a suspended sentence with 16 months probation – one of the conditions of which bans her from going to Grandin mall. Mills must also pay more than $600 in restitution to the truck’s owner to cover damages.
A charge of theft under $5,000 was withdrawn.
Video games were the choice of goods for Darcy Donald Hunter back in November 2012 when he lifted 34 of them from the Future Shop on St. Albert Trail.
Hunter appeared in court on Monday and pleaded guilty to theft under $5,000. The value of the games is more than $1,100.
A pre-sentence report was ordered; Hunter will be back in court on Oct. 7 for sentencing.
