Tire theft deemed satisfied by appearance in court

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on July 30, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

Stealing a tire from a child’s bicycle may not rank among the most serious crimes committed in the city, but it’s still reprehensible behaviour, a judge suggested Friday.

“I know it’s just a bicycle tire, and maybe I’m just being overly sympathetic, but to steal a child’s bike is, well, I hope I don’t have to say how low that is,” Judge Gregory Maxwell told Andrew George Blasetti, who pleaded guilty in Lethbridge provincial court to a charge of theft under $5,000.

On Sept. 8 of last year a police officer saw Blasetti riding a mountain bike across the lawn of Winston Churchill High School on the northside, then stop and examine a child-size bike locked to a tree. Given the high number of bicycle thefts in the city, the officer watched closely and saw Blasetti release the front wheel from the bike and ride away with it.

Later that night the officer saw Blasetti outside of a residence in the 1700 block of 13 Avenue North. He and another officer knocked on the door and spoke to Blasetti, who went into the backyard and removed the stolen wheel from an adult tricycle.

The Crown proposed fining Blasetti $500 for the tire theft, but Calgary lawyer Robin McIntyre suggested her client be sentenced to one-day in jail in default of the fine, which would be considered served by his appearance in court.

McIntyre explained Blasetti was beaten up in the remand centre a couple of years ago and sustained a traumatic brain injury. He had to undergo brain surgery and continues to work with the Lethbridge Brain Injury Clinic, which is also helping him acquire AISH, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped.

Given his limited finances and struggle to “put a life together now with a brain injury,” McIntyre requested the one-day sentence in default of the $500 fine.

Maxwell pointed out that the default time on a $500 fine is four days in jail, but he gave Blasetti a break and simply sentenced him to one day in jail instead of a giving him a fine.

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