Jail time for being unlawfully in houses

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This article was published 07/03/2022 (1711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man found in two houses without permission was sentenced to a year in jail Monday morning.

Richard Sigurdson pleaded guilty to two counts of being unlawfully in a dwelling house and one count of breaching court-ordered conditions.

On March 7, 2020, just after 5:30 a.m., an 11-year-old girl called police from a house on 13th Street in Brandon, Crown attorney Melania Cannon told the court. The young girl said her parents were asleep, but a “strange man” came through their unlocked door.

Police arrived two minutes later and found Sigurdson in the residence, Cannon said. He reportedly told police the door was unlocked and he was looking for water.

Sigurdson was co-operative with police, she said.

Then, on March 29, 2021, at approximately 10:20 p.m., police received another call from a residence on 12th Street, Cannon said.

A man said he and his family were home when the back door opened, which triggered their security system, she said.

When he went to inspect the back door, he reportedly saw a man wearing a grey hoodie and dark pants inside. Cannon said the man approached the intruder, who quickly left.

Police couldn’t find the man, but video surveillance from the security system showed the suspect. A few days later, on April 6, officers found Sigurdson wearing the same clothes and confirmed he was the same person from the video, Cannon said.

Sigurdson also pleaded guilty to breaching court-ordered release conditions by moving away from a residential treatment program without first telling the court, Cannon said.

Cannon recommended a total sentence of a year in jail, minus 272 days time already served.

“While these were incredibly frightening experiences for the homeowners — and certainly for an 11-year-old girl to wake up at 5 a.m. in the morning and see a strange man in her home — there’s no real sense that he was intending to commit any further indictable offence,” she said.

Sigurdson is adopted and had a tough childhood, defence lawyer Tara Walker told the court. He was reportedly abused and assaulted by his adopted parents growing up, and he resorted to running away from home at times.

Despite his challenges, Walker said Sigurdson has made significant efforts over the last two years to deal with his issues. She also noted he was in court Monday afternoon, taking responsibility for his actions.

Walker jointly recommended the sentence with Cannon.

Speaking to the court, Sigurdson said he wasn’t in the right state of mind at the time of the crimes. He said he was just trying to get onto the porch in one of the instances as it was “freezing” outside.

He said he believed 10 months was enough time in jail for the charges.

Judge Donovan Dvorak endorsed the joint recommendation, sentencing Sigurdson to a total of one year in jail. Walker said Sigurdson has 93 days in jail going forward.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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