HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-10-24, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013. PAGE 9. Andrew McCallum of London,formerly of Wingham, wassentenced to 60 days in jail, inaddition to his 60 days of pre-
sentence custody, in Wingham court
on Oct. 17.
Facing 18 charges, McCallum
pled guilty to four, addressing 12 by
way of a peace bond and having the
remainder of the charges withdrawn.
McCallum pled guilty to one
charge of theft of electricity under
$5,000 from March 22, two charges
from April 30 and June 18 of failing
to comply with certain conditions by
not informing police officers of a
change of address and one charge of
failing to attend court from
June 20.
Crown Attorney Laura Grant told
Justice G. Brophy that on March 22,
a neighbour of McCallum’s found an
extension cord running from his
shed to McCallum’s home. He
disconnected the cord and called
police. When the police attended the
neighbour’s home, the cord had been
reconnected once again.
Upon being confronted over the
theft, Grant said McCallum admittedto stealing his neighbour’s power.Regarding the first charge offailing to notify the police of a
change of address, Grant told
Brophy that on April 30, police
attended the home McCallum had
owned for a compliance check of his
conditions to find a notice on the
door from a mortgage company
saying the company had taken over
the home.
For the second charge, McCallum
had given the address of an
apartment in Wingham, Grant said.
When police attended the residence
to find McCallum for a compliance
check on June 18, the landlord
indicated that McCallum was not
living there. She said he had inquired
about renting an apartment, but she
turned him down for a number of
factors.
On June 20, McCallum was
scheduled to appear in Wingham
court, but did not appear, leading to
the fourth charge.
Grant suggested that due to
McCallum’s extensive criminal
record, there was a certain defiancein his behaviour and that he shouldbe credited for his 60 days of pre-sentence custody, but serve an
additional 60 days in jail for his
offenses.
McCallum’s lawyer, Phil Cornish,
however, argued that three of
McCallum’s four guilty pleas were
interconnected and were borne out
of a dire financial state.
Facing potentially losing his
home, Cornish said, McCallum was
still living in his home, but could not
pay for hydro. He then resorted to
stealing his neighbour’s power to
facilitate a small heater in March.
Cornish said the offense was akin
to that of Jean Valjean of Les
Misérables, who was jailed after
stealing a loaf of bread due to
extreme hunger.
Cornish said McCallum knew he
was in the wrong, but that he was
simply trying to obtain a “necessity
of life” during a cold Huron County
winter.
Brophy agreed, saying that due to
the “blatant” nature of the theft,
McCallum’s actions were akin to“petty theft” in his mind. He said thetheft was the least serious of the fourcharges.
Cornish added that the two
charges of failing to notify the police
of an address change were also
related to McCallum’s financial
issues. When he went into default on
his home, eventually losing it, he
would essentially continue through
life with no fixed address, which is
unacceptable to police who need an
address in order to conduct
compliance checks.
Cornish said the two charges were
against the same “contextual
backdrop” as the theft in that they
resulted from nearly impossible
circumstances for McCallum, rather
than an intention to commit a crime.
On the failure to attend court
charge, Cornish said it was simply a
case of McCallum being in London
and not being able to get a ride to
Wingham. He said McCallum
should have found a way to get to
Wingham, but again, the offense did
not come as the result of a malicious
intent to break the law.
Brophy, however, said that Grant’s
suggestion of an additional 60 days
of custody seemed “completely
rational” to him and sentenced
McCallum accordingly.
McCallum’s peace bond was made
in the amount of $500 with no
deposit and no surety. It came
alongside a 12-month weapons
prohibition.
FRAUDMargaret Beattie was given aprobation term of 18 months andwas ordered to pay $800 in
restitution in connection with a
series of frauds that took place in
May and June.
Beattie pled guilty to six charges
of fraud and one charge of
transportation fraud in connection
with the incidents. Five of the six
fraud charges took place on May 31,
as did the charge of transportation
fraud, with the sixth fraud charge
taking place on June 4.
In total, Grant said, Beattie racked
up a total of $3,148.81 in charges to
a number of local businesses through
setting up store credit accounts
under a false name.
The charges included a $120 taxi
ride, a $274 camera, $463 worth of
clothing and jewelery, a $150 oil
lamp, $978 worth of candles and
vases, an additional $489 worth of
candles and a $68 lantern, among
other items.
The investigation began, Grant
said, when several Wingham-area
businesses reported fraud claims,
suspecting that Beattie wasn’t who
she was saying she was. When
Continued from page 1
enacted and exceptions could be
made for specific farming practices
and festivals. Such a bylaw, he said,
could be enforced just as any other
municipal bylaw is.
Howard told councillors that he
figures drafting of such a bylaw
would cost $20,000, which could be
split between participating
municipalities. In order to ensure
that the bylaw will stand up in court,
however, it will need to go through a
testing process, for which there is no
fixed cost.
Howard told councillors, however,
that he estimates the cost to
challenge the bylaw to be at least
$250,000.
Councillors were concerned about
the costs associated with such a
bylaw, but there were also concerns
about its history.
“We’ve talked about turbines, so it
wouldn’t be in good faith if we
know what we’re trying to
do,” Councillor Nathan Marshall
said. “There’s no other reason
to do one, right?” Marshall
asked Howard, to which he said
no.
“So that’s not good faith, then is
it?” Marshall responded.
Howard said there is a delicate
balance that the bylaw is attempting
to achieve.
“We can’t ban turbines, but we can
regulate them,” Howard told
councillors. “That’s where quiet
nights walks that fine line.”
Several councillors said they
weren’t prepared to back any kind of
process until they knew the final
costs associated with it.
Mayor Bernie MacLellan asked
Howard to return to council when he
had more information, at which time
council would consider
participating.
Council to wait for bylaw costs
Former Wingham man to spend 120 days in jail
Protest
The rain and cold couldn’t keep the Wingham and District Right to Life from protesting the
provincial funding of abortion as they held a protest in front of and around MPP Lisa
Thompson’s Blyth constituency office on Oct. 19. (Denny Scott photo)
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