Drug and property convictions result in four month sentence

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on May 13, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

Levi Cyprian Harris wasn’t expecting to come across any bears in Lethbridge, so he really didn’t need the can of bear spray he was caught carrying last year.
On Oct. 20, 2021 police found a stolen Ford Ranger and Ford Focus in Coalhurst, on which were attached stolen licence plates. Harris, who was the passenger, was arrested, along with the driver, and during a search Harris was found in possession of the pepper spray, which is classified as a prohibited weapon. At the time Harris was prohibited from possessing weapons, and he didn’t have a licence to possess the pepper spray.
Harris, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court to possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of a weapon while prohibited. He also pleaded guilty to additional charges of escaping lawful custody, breach of probation, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, theft under $5,000, failure to comply with a release order, drug possession and possession of stolen credit cards.
The charges stem from various incidents earlier this year and last year, beginning on Jan. 26, 2021 when Harris failed to comply with a probation order that required him to report to probation within two days of the order.
The following month, while he was serving a 90-day intermittent sentence, he again failed to report to probation as directed, and he didn’t answer his telephone when police called to ensure he was following conditions of his sentence.
On April 28, 2021 employees at the Coalhurst Esso called police to report a theft, and that the thief had a knife. Harris took off on a bicycle and fled down an alley, but was caught by police shortly afterward. Police searched Harris and found a mask and chocolate bar he stole from the service station, as well as the “knife,” which was actually a machete.
Earlier this year, on March 15, a police officer was patrolling and noticed a group of people at the rear of a building in the 200 block of 10 Street North. Harris was crouched down between two dumpsters, and while an officer spoke to him about being on private property, another officer noticed a baggie of fentanyl on top of Harris’s backpack and he was arrested. During a search police found more fentanyl in his pocket, a folding knife, a loaded needle and stolen credit cards.
At the time of his arrest Harris was bound by a release order prohibiting him from possessing weapons while outside of his residence.
Harris was sentenced to 115 days in jail, but given credit for the equivalent of 87 days in pre-trial custody, leaving him 28 days to serve.
Court was told Harris’s offences are related to his drug addiction, and Calgary lawyer Shaun Leochko pointed out his client began using marijuana when he was only 14 years old.
Harris left his mother’s home when he was only 12 and he moved in with his father who was often away working, leaving his young son unsupervised at home. Leochko said that after Harris is released from jail, he plans to earn various certificates that will enable him to work for a company for which his father works in Fort McMurray.

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