More jail time for city man

By Lethbridge Herald on July 2, 2023.

Delon Shurtz
Lethbridge Herald

A Lethbridge man who pleaded guilty Friday in Lethbridge court of justice to several criminal offences, as well as offences under the Traffic Safety Act, will spend some time in jail on top of a sentence he is already serving.

Scott Eugene Conine, 40, was sentenced to five and a half months in jail after pleading guilty to charges of forcible entry, possession of an unauthorized weapon, assault, failure to remain at the scene of an accident, causing a disturbance, driving while unauthorized, driving while prohibited, and failure to comply with probation.

The charge of forcible entry stems from an incident June 10 of this year in Coaldale where Conine went to a home along Fairway Drive. A woman in the home heard a loud banging on her door, but before she could respond Conine walked in.

The woman told Conine to leave and attempted to push him out, but he pushed his way back inside where the woman continued to yell at him to leave. He eventually left, climbed into a vehicle and drove away.

Two months later in Fort Macleod RCMP were informed of a single-vehicle collision on Highway 3 where Conine, who was prohibited from driving at the time, had driven into a CP Railway crossing sign then fled on foot. A passenger told police Conine fell asleep moments before the crash. Conine later walked to a house and asked for a ride to Brocket.

On May 11 of this year police were notified that a man was at the Bigelow Fowler Medical Clinic and holding a woman against her will. Conine and the woman had gone to the clinic for Conine to receive an X-ray, but they got into a heated and loud exchange a number of times while they were there. At one point during the arguments Conine grabbed the woman and held her close to him against her will.

Court was told Conine, who at the time was subject to a driving prohibition from 2022, had driven himself and the woman to the clinic. After he was arrested police found him in possession of a switchblade, in contravention of a probation order prohibiting him from possessing weapons.

Crown Prosecutor James Rouleau pointed out Conine has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for uttering threats, assault, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, criminal harassment, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and flight from police.

Lethbridge lawyer Vincent Guinan described his client as a “vulnerable participant in the criminal justice system” because he suffers from a number of cognitive challenges and  past addiction issues. He noted Conine’s long list of relatively minimal offences turned more serious after his parents died some years ago.

“When his parents both passed away, all of a sudden things got out of control very quickly,” Guinan said.

Conine’s sentence will run consecutive to a sentence he is already serving, and even though he was fined $500 for failing to remain at the scene of an accident, and $750 for unauthorized driving, he chose to serve the default time in jail, rather than pay the fines.

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