A man was given credit for jail time served, after he was again caught drinking on the streets of St. Albert.
Peter James Learn appeared in court Monday via closed-circuit television from the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC). He pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching the conditions of his probation.
The conditions of his release stemmed from a suspended sentence for obstructing a peace officer last November.
RCMP came across the 34-year-old outside a 7-Eleven convenience store in St. Albert around 6 a.m. on July 31. Officers noted he had difficulty walking, slurred speak, glassy eyes and an odour of alcohol on his breath.
At the time of the incident, Learn was bound by court order to abstain from alcohol. He suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome.
The Ontario native is no stranger to the court, he has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1994 and at least 20 charges are for failing to comply with release conditions.
Learn was last convicted in July to 30 days in jail for drinking.
Crown prosecutor Alicia Wendel sought out a jail term of 45 to 60 days for the two breach charges.
Judge Bruce Garriock, who has sentenced Learn several times before, took his condition into account and handed him credit for time served. Learn has been in custody at the ERC for 27 days.
The odds were stacked against one man in court on Monday as he faced a pile of breach charges that included using drugs.
Brent Sean McGill appeared in person in St. Albert court and pleaded guilty to five breach of condition charges and one count of failing to appear in court. He is currently serving time for possession of non-prescription drugs for the purpose of trafficking.
The conditions McGill was under arose from an assault causing bodily harm conviction in Edmonton. The subsequent breaches ranged in date from January 2011 to June 2013.
The 24-year-old was caught disobeying a no contact order, breaking his curfew, possession of 5.2 grams of Ecstasy while attending a rave in Edmonton and possession of a cellphone when he was prohibited from doing so.
Federal Crown prosecutor Ian Fraser argued McGill’s sentences should be consecutive, while defence lawyer Phillip Lister appealed to the court that any additional time should be served as a period of probation after he gets out.
Lister explained that McGill’s crime is being an addict. Tacking on additional time to an already 30-month sentence would be “crushing and devastating” for a young man that has already been federally institutionalized.
During a brief adjournment, Garriock weighed the options and decided to give McGill a total sentence of four years.
