A young man will spend the next year and a half on probation for going on a car-smashing spree.
Adam Troy Riddell, 26, pled guilty Monday to one count of property-related mischief. He appeared in St. Albert Provincial Court by video from the Edmonton Remand Centre.
According to provincial Crown prosecutor John Donahoe, Riddell’s crimes happened on Nov. 30, 2011, after he had gotten in an argument with his brother. Riddell went out the back door of the home, kicked over some garbage containers, and started smashing windows in nearby parked vehicles. After damaging nine cars, he was arrested and has been in jail ever since.
Riddell did have a prior youth criminal record related to joyriding, Donahoe said, but was also willing to pay for the damage he had done to the cars. A psychiatric assessment of Riddell indicated that he had schizophrenia, and may not have been criminally responsible for his actions on the 30th.
Riddell apologized to the court for his actions.
Citing victim’s impact statements, Judge Ken Tjosvold noted that Riddell’s actions had caused people a great deal of stress. However, he also noted that Riddell had already spent 68 days in jail awaiting trial.
Tjosvold sentenced Riddell to one day in jail, deemed served by his court appearance, and put him on probation for 18 months, during which he will have to keep the peace, report to a probation officer, abstain from alcohol and illegal drugs, and take treatment as directed. He also ordered him to pay about $1,500 to the owners of the damaged vehicles. Riddell was not asked to pay a victim’s fine surcharge.
A St. Albert man will spend the next three months under house arrest after he was caught dealing drugs during a regional sting operation.
Donovan Alexander Gold, 20, of St. Albert, pled guilty Monday in St. Albert court to one count of trafficking of a controlled substance.
St. Albert RCMP have confirmed that Gold was arrested on this charge in fall 2010 as part of Project Kompression — a massive sting operation that targeted low-level drug dealers in the Edmonton region and involved officers from St. Albert, Morinville, Fort Saskatchewan, Sherwood Park, Beaumont, Leduc, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Enoch and Devon. He was one of about 65 people arrested during the months-long investigation.
According to federal Crown prosecutor Kevin Short, an undercover police officer called Gold on Sept. 8, 2010, and purchased eight grams of marijuana from him valued at $80. Gold was arrested for the sale on Nov. 24.
Tjosvold sentenced Gold to six months imprisonment to be served in the community. Gold will spend the next three months under house arrest and will be subject to a probation order for the following three, during which he will have to keep the peace, take treatment as directed, stay off drugs and alcohol and obey a curfew. He will not be allowed to have weapons and cannot have visitors in his home after midnight. He must also perform 60 hours of community service.
Gold receives a 10-year prohibition on owning weapons and firearms and a lifetime ban on owning prohibited weapons.
A St. Albert woman was sentenced to community service this week as punishment for stealing some $4,400 from her employer.
Candace McDonald, 41, of St. Albert was sentenced in St. Albert court Monday for one count each of forging and using a forged document. She pled guilty to those crimes last March.
According to Donahoe, who read the facts of the case in court, on Sept. 16, 2010, workers at the non-profit group Parents Empowering Parents discovered that McDonald, one of their employees, had stolen about $4,410 from them by making fraudulent deposits. She was arrested and charged.
While McDonald could certainly be jailed for her crime, Donahoe said, he saw no need for a jail sentence since she had since repaid the stolen money.
McDonald, fighting back tears, said that her actions had humiliated her family and put a non-profit group in peril. “I’m here to accept responsibility for the choices I’ve made.”
This was a serious violation of trust, Tjosvold told McDonald, one that affected an important organization. Still, he accepted that she regretted her actions, and acknowledged that she had repayed the stolen money.
Tjosvold sentenced McDonald to 50 hours of community service and 18 months probation, during which she will have to keep the peace, report to a probation officer and take treatment as directed. He also ordered her to repay the $4,410 she stole, which she has done, and banned her from being in any position at a non-profit where she would have to handle money.
