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The Citizen, 2003-11-26, Page 11THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26. 2003. PAGE 11. Court news Teen fined $2,000 on driving, theft charges A pre-sentence report was presented at the Nov. 20 court in Wingham for a Clinton man who pled guilty a month before to break, enter and theft and failing to stop for a police officer, causing bodily harm by driving carelessly. Attorney for the Crown Rod Guthrie said that Branden Morden was arrested May 26 after a robbery at a gas bar north of Wingham. Fleeing the scene with two other culprits after police arrived Morden, who is 19, rolled the pickup in a marsh. The accident resulted in injuries to the passengers. Duty counsel John Myers noted that Morden had referred to the break and enter as “dumb” and the driving as “dumber”. Saying the man was willing to make restitution, Myers defended what had been noted as a lack of remorse. “This seems to have come from the officer. The accused doesn’t recall it. It may have happened in the hospital so he can’t address that.” Judge R.G.E. Hunter fined Morden $1,000 on each charge and prohibited him from driving for two years. He is on three years probation and is to have no contact with the co- accuseds. He must receive counselling as recommended by the probation officer and cannot attend at the gas bar for any reason. In addition to the $2,000 fine, which he has 12 months to pay, Morden must also make restitution in the amount of $500, one-third of the total. He has 90 days to pay. Impaired An RR4, Brussels man was fined $1,000 for driving while impaired. Pleading not guilty, Joel Hill represented himself in the trial. Const. James Hunter was the first witness for the Crown. He said that at 6:45 p.m. March 27, he received information regarding a possible impaired driver. He saw the vehicle in Blyth and testified that it pulled . away from the shoulder, then stopped in the road, straddling the centre line for a brief time. Once he had stopped the vehicle, the officer noted Hill showed physical signs of impairment and he detected a strong odour of alcohol. When asked if he had been drinking. Hill responded by saying he had had six beers, the officer testified. Enroute to the detachment for breathalizer tests, the accused was chatty and “very pleasant”, said Hunter. The Crown’s second witness, Const. Kevin Smith, the breath technician testified during cross examination by Hill that the reason the actual readings of 222 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood and 218 were shown as 220 and 210 on the certificate is because they are always rounded down to even numbers. Finding him guilty on impaired, in addition to imposing the fine, Hunter also placed Hill on 12 months probation during which he is to receive counselling. He is also off the road for 12 months. Drunk driving Neil Wall of RR2, Walkerton pled guilty to impaired driving and refusing to provide a breath sample. Guthrie said that on June 3, Wall had backed his pick-up out of a driveway, hit a parked van, then sideswiped another pickup. Police arrested him for impaired and at the detachment the 27-year- oid refused to provide a breath sample. Wall has no similar record. He was fined $600 on each charge and is off the road for 12 months. Wall was given 12 months to pay the fine. Animal abuse An Ethel man was charged Feb. 22 for causing pain to a dog. He pled not guilty. The Crown’s first witness, Ron Siebert, said he was in his backyard when he heard yelling. Looking to wards a nearby property, he saw the accused. Gary Hall. 46. swinging a dog off the ground by the chain. Siebert said Hall yelled “I’m going to f-----g kill you.” “The dog was yelping. I was pretty angry and went inside my house,” said Siebert. Contacting the animal control officer, the witness said he was told to call the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. However, told that number was not in service he called the OPP. Defence counsel Lynn Johnston questioned Siebert on the possibility of Hall simply trying to untangle the dog from a post. “I wouldn’t believe it. That’s not what I saw. To this day it bothers me. It never should have happened.” Johnston then asked if Siebert wasn’t watching for something to happen. He replied that he was concerned when he first discovered a dog was living at Hall’s and had called the animal control officer then. “I didn’t think he should have one considering what happened before.” This prompted Guthrie to attempt to introduce the facts regarding that statement, however, Hunter did not allow it. “I accept his evidence that he was concerned.” ■ Const. Charlene Pollard said when she arrived at Hall’s she saw a female German shepherd, weighing about 45 pounds, which she described as timid. Unable to reach Hall, she took the dog to a temporary shelter. On the stand Hall’s story was that he was untangling the dog and did not recall yelling. He said he had gone out to feed the dog and found her tangled. Johnston told Hunter that Hall’s story could “reasonably be true”, saying he didn’t have to believe it but that it cast doubt. Hunter on the other hand felt the Crown had proven its case, calling The Citizen FEEDING WILD BIRDS IN WINTER Brighten dull winter days by helping to attract colourful wild birds. $9.95 Lynch 60 of Leacock’s non-fiction creates a THE NEW STENCIL BOOK Includes over 40 stencil motifs to use and information how to cut stencils and how to apply L them. Learn more about how js. to use this decorating technique. $19.95 COWSMOPOLITAN Cattle producers will get a chuckle from this parody on a dairy theme. 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According to the Crown the complainant described the accused as controlling and said that on one occasion during an argument, TenPas had pushed her up against a garage door. On a second occasion he pushed her when she was trying to get past him and “kind of slammed her against the wall”. In a third incident he hit her in the stomach with a cushion, Guthrie said. TenPas had also spit on the victim saying “it was justified because she disgusted him.” Counsel Tim Macdonald described the situation as one of two people in a volatile relationship, “a bad mix”, resulting in out of character responses from TenPas. He described his client as very involved in his church and noted that he had already begun counselling. “He hasn’t ignored the situation.” Hunter suspended passing of sentence and placed TenPas on two years probation. He is to have no contact with the victim or her immediate family and must stay away from their residence. He must also take counselling as recommended by the probation officer. TenPas is also prohibited from owning weapons for five years. Assault Jason Curtis of Bluevale pled guilty to assault. Guthrie said Curtis had been asked to move his car from in front of an apartment entrance as people were trying to move furniture. “Early attempts to get it moved, failed.” By afternoon Curtis’s sister came out to move it, then drove back in, said Guthrie. As the victim reached in to grab the keys, the woman bit him and yelled for her brother. Curtis then hit the man. Saying the accused had responded to his sister’s “crying out”, Myers said Curtis had “over-reacted” and that the incident was out of character. Curtis was granted a conditional discharge and placed on 12 months probation. He is prohibited from owning weapons except for hunting purposes for five years. 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