A pregnant Edmonton woman got a wake-up call in court Monday when Judge Norman Mackie warned that her child could be removed from her care if her criminal behaviour continued.
Alison Jean Norris, 21, was handed a one-year suspended sentence for attempting to steal money from her mother, in addition to a one-year peace bond for assault and threats to cause death.
Norris is due to give birth at the end of the month and Mackie cautioned that she will likely find herself behind bars if she breaches her peace bond or probation.
“The child may end up in the hands of another should you be in breach,” he said.
Norris pleaded guilty to using a forged document after she stole a pair of cheques from her mother last spring. She filled out and deposited one of the cheques valued at $2,000 and attempted to withdraw that amount in cash but was unsuccessful.
She said she was going to use the funds for a damage deposit and the first month’s rent for a new apartment.
She was ordered to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, report to probation, attend counseling and treatment as directed by probation officers, abstain from drugs and alcohol, provide urine or breath samples when requested and live in an approved residence.
Norris also pleaded guilty to assault and threats to cause death and entered into a peace bond. She is prohibited from contacting the two named complainants.
“I’m doing everything that I can,” Norris said. “I just want to be a good mother and you can’t do that when you’re in jail.”
Mackie suggested that Norris’ “selfish indulgences” with alcohol and drugs have imposed a life sentence on her unborn child and suggested the child would be better off in someone else’s care if that lifestyle continues.
“Hopefully you’ll learn from these experiences,” Mackie said.
Crown prosecutor Patricia Hankinson withdrew a charge for theft under $5,000.
An Edmonton woman new to Canada was granted an absolute discharge after she pleaded guilty to stealing from a St. Albert grocer.
Sarah Amina Kamara, 30, appeared in court via closed-circuit television from the Edmonton Remand Centre where she pleaded guilty to theft under $5,000 for stealing nearly $200 worth of merchandise from Save On Foods.
Kamara, originally from Sierra Leone, has been in Canada for five months and is living with family in Edmonton.
Lawyer Brad Leebody said economic hardship prompted Kamara to select the items, including grocery items, cosmetics and deodorant, and exit the store without paying. Staff immediately stopped her and recovered all of the stolen merchandise.
Kamara was arrested and had been in police custody since Thursday.
Mackie asked Kamara if stealing was an acceptable behaviour in Sierra Leone, to which Kamara replied “no.”
“As you found out in the last four days, it is not acceptable in Canada,” he said.
Crown prosecutor John Donahoe was originally seeking enrolment in the alternative measures program, which offers an alternative to prison time for first-time offenders. He later opted for an absolute discharge, which means no conviction despite a guilty plea, due to her time already spent behind bars.
A St. Albert woman escaped a criminal record for her second drug-related conviction.
Elizabeth Ann Rogerson, 27, pleaded guilty Monday to possession of a controlled substance. She was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to complete 40 hours of community service.
Federal Crown prosecutor Jeremy Newton told the court that police were patrolling Boudreau Road on Nov. 8, 2012 when they noticed a black vehicle with an expired registration tag on the licence plate.
They ran her licence plate and found that the plate was, in fact, expired and discovered that the registered driver had two warrants for her arrest. Police performed a traffic stop to arrest Rogerson and discovered 1.6 grams of marijuana in her possession.
Rogerson does not have a criminal record, although she was referred to the alternative measures program on a prior drug-related charge.
Alexandra Seaman, student at law, told the court that Rogerson feared having a criminal record that would prevent her from travelling to see her father, who lives in Texas and was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Newton withdrew two remaining charges for possession of a controlled substance and failure to attend court.
