By Delon Shurtz on July 10, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
A 37-year-old man facing 43 criminal charges, many going back to 2019, was handed a jail sentence Tuesday, but released the same day.
Nicholas Rodney Scout was sentenced in Lethbridge provincial court to nearly seven months in jail after he pleaded guilty to many of his charges, including possession of stolen property, theft, possession of a firearm obtained by crime, unlawful use of identity documents, and breaching court orders. But because he had already spent the equivalent of his jail term in custody since his arrest in March, his sentence was deemed served and he was released.
The first of his charges stems from an incident on Sept. 10, 2019 after employees at Casino Lethbridge saw Scout in the parking lot. Aware he was warranted on warrants, they called police, who arrived shortly afterward and found him in possession of a pocket knife, drugs and a stolen key for a stolen Jeep.
The following November, during covert surveillance, police saw Scout and a female friend leave a residence, climb into the car and drive away. Scout was arrested a short time afterward and police found in his possession several stolen items, including vehicle registration and insurance documents, and identity documents.
At the time of his arrest, Scout was on a court-ordered recognizance that prohibited him from being inside a vehicle without the registered owner. Court was told that earlier the same day, Scout had also used a stolen Visa card to buy about $34 worth of liquor.
On March 15 of this year Scout went to an auto repair and wreckers business in Fort Macleod to find a vehicle window, and while the owner was busy, Scout “helped himself to the window” and left without paying for it.
The following day police were conducting an investigation and noticed a pickup truck with stolen tires and rims. Although the truck belonged to Scout’s mother, he had been using it.
Long suspicious of the activities of Scout and his intimate partner, police found the couple on another occasion at a residence in Granum, to which they had driven in a stolen 2018 Dodge Ram. In an armed response, police surrounded the home and eventually the couple exited and were arrested. During a search of the vehicle, police found a shotgun, which they determined was already in the vehicle when it was stolen.
Scout was also searched, and police found registration and insurance documents, a healthcare card, an indian status card, and two driver’s licences.
Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles pointed out Scout was, at the time, on a recognizance prohibiting him from possessing weapons and requiring him to abide by a curfew in his residence.
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