Intermittent sentence ordered for break and enters

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on September 14, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 37-year-old man who broke into two Lethbridge businesses during the summer will be allowed to serve a two-month jail sentence on weekends.

Jeremiah Holy White Man was sentenced Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court after he pleaded guilty to two counts of break and enter and commit theft. In addition to his intermittent jail sentence, he will also be on probation for one year, during which time he is prohibited from going to Cloverdale Paint on 2 Avenue South, and Sally Beauty Supply on Mayor Magrath South.

At about 4:51 a.m. on June 25 the alarm at Cloverdale Paint was triggered and when police arrived they found a broken window, a can of paint spray lying on the road, a cellphone on the sidewalk and a pile of glass from the broken window. An employee accessed surveillance camera footage, which showed three individuals stealing various colours of spray paint before leaving through the window.

Shortly after 5:30 a.m. the same day an alarm was set off at Sally Beauty. A red SUV had backed up to the rear of the business with enough force to smash the door, which enabled two men to enter the store. They were recorded by video surveillance cameras rummaging through the business before exiting through the smashed door and driving away in the SUV, leaving behind pieces of the vehicle’s tail lights. Two iPads were reported missing from the store.

The suspects were identified about three hours later after police received a mischief complaint on the northside about two people spray painting a garage. The owner gave police a description of the two men, which matched the description of the suspects who had broken into the beauty supply store. Police found the men a short distance from the garage they painted, and learned one of the men, Holy White Man, was wanted on outstanding warrants.

“A search incidental to arrest found that the accused had a bag on him that contained two cans of Cloverdale spray paint and the two iPads which had been taken from the Sally Beauty store,” said Crown Prosecutor Dawn Janecke.

Holy White Man confessed to the crimes, and said one of the other suspects had provided the SUV used in the second break-in and which the suspect had previously stolen.

Holy White Man, who court was told has previous criminal convictions, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but given credit for the equivalent of 30 days he had already spent in pre-trial custody, leaving 60 days to serve.

Lethbridge lawyer Claudia Connolly said Holy White Man’s mother died many years ago, but he really began struggling after his grandmother, who raised him, died about eight years ago.

“Jeremiah was really close to his grandmother and that was a devastating time for him,” Connolly said. “After that he became involved in substance abuse, ended up on the streets and ended up making a lot of mistakes.”

Connolly, who requested an intermittent jail sentence, said Holy White Man needs counselling and treatment, which he hopes to receive while he is not in custody on weekends.

Judge Jerry LeGrandeur expressed some concern about allowing Holy White Man to serve his sentence on weekends, fearing he might not show up, but he granted the defence request. He also warned Holy White Man of the consequences of missing a weekend.

“You need to be really careful when you get out,” LeGrandeur advised. “The minute you don’t show up you’re breached; you’re arrested, you’ll get charged, you’ll get more time and then you’ll have to serve this, so everything will have been for nothing. It’s up to you.”

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