Multiple breaches, property crimes result in nine month sentence
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on August 24, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
A Lethbridge man who pleaded guilty to numerous criminal offences, including nearly a dozen breaches of court orders, has received a nine-month jail sentence.
Chad Daniel Saxon pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court to 11 breach charges, as well as charges of possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking, theft over $5,000, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, possession of stolen property under $5,000 and mischief causing damage.
Court was told that on March 30 of this year Saxon was selling stolen tools on Facebook, and was caught after the owner of the tools saw them advertised for sale and arranged to buy them. He thenĂ‚Â called police, who met Saxon at his mother’s house and arrested him. At the time Saxon was on release conditions that prohibited him from being at his mother’s residence and having any contact with her.
Earlier the same month Saxon backed a pickup truck into an RV service and repair business in the middle of the night, hooked up a 2010 travel trailer that was scheduled for repairs and drove away. Saxon attempted to sell the trailer, worth about $22,000, to a potential buyer who examined the trailer and recorded the vehicle information numbers. The buyer discovered the trailer had been stolen and contacted police.
On Sept. 30 of last year police received a report that someone had a weapon and was threatening to kill another person. Police went to Saxon’s mother’s house where Saxon had gotten into a dispute with his sister over money and drugs and threatened to get a gun and shoot her dog.
Crown Prosecutor Adam Zelmer noted Saxon didn’t have a gun, but his sister took his threats seriously.
Lethbridge lawyer Darcy Shurtz pointed out Saxon’s sister had also threatened Saxon and the two siblings had exchanged threats.
“That doesn’t excuse Mr. Saxon from uttering threats and putting his sister in fear, but it gives a little more context if the court understands that,” Shurtz told the judge.
At the time of the incident Saxon was again on release conditions that prohibited him from having contact with his mother and from going to her house.
Almost a year earlier, on Dec. 2, 2020, when Saxon was still under conditions not to contact his mother or go to her residence, his mother was returning home and found her son hiding in a bush just outside her front door. She told him to leave but he refused and remained in the bush as she entered her home. She called police but Saxon left before police arrived. They eventually found him at a shopping centre downtown where he was arrested for the breaches, and he was also charged with possession of stolen property after police found on him a wallet belonging to another person.
Saxon was again in breach of a probation order on April 30, 2020, which prohibited him from going to his mother’s house. On that day he was at her house and yelling and screaming in the backyard. His mother told him to leave and in anger he kicked and damaged a fence gate, resulting in a charge of mischief causing damage.
Saxon faced additional breach charges, as well, primarily for repeatedly contacting his mother and being at her home.
Shurtz explained that between 2018 and 2020 Saxon was seriously addicted to substances, which caused the problems between himself and his mother and sister and subsequently his breach charges. Since then, however, things have improved.
“Things have gotten better in 2021 in regards to his addiction,” Shurtz said. “He’s not causing issues with his mother and his sister so much anymore; he seems to have his addiction under control.”
Shurtz pointed out that during Saxon’s time in remand custody he completed several courses and programs focusing on employment skills, family violence prevention, life management, release planning and religious studies.
“He’s worked hard since being in custody,”
Although sentenced to 265 days in jail – five days short of nine months – Saxon was given full credit for time he has already spent in remand custody, which concludes his sentence. He will be on probation of one year, however, during which time he is to be assessed and receive treatment and counselling as directed. He is also prohibited from possessing weapons and contacting his mother and sister, unless they give their consent.
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20-19
Hilarious! A perfect example of how broken our judicial and penal systems are!
This is a joke! This deviant showed a complete disregard to court orders, laws and society with multiple charges and only received 9 months?
When there are no deterrents, crime will and does now flourish!