Habitual offender convicted for multiple thefts

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This article was published 14/01/2025 (247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon provincial court judge sentenced a habitual offender on Monday after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of theft, failing to attend court, and breaching conditions of a previous release order.

Charles George, 40, appeared before Judge Patrick D. Sullivan, who sentenced him to 90 days in custody, also taking into account the 78 days George has already been incarcerated.

Judge Sullivan also emphasized the need for him to address his addiction issues in order to avoid future convictions. A two-year unsupervised probation order was also issued by him, along with conditions to prevent George from re-offending.

For instance, George will be prohibited from attending Brandon’s Real Canadian Superstore for a period of two years upon his release from jail for multiple prior thefts at the store.

“Clearly Mr. George is not getting the message,” Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup argued in court on Monday.

“He is showing us someone who is going to try and support himself by thefts. We’re seeing far too much of this. The public is getting annoyed. Stores are losing a lot of money, and it’s getting an increased focus of attention,” Lonstrup stated. “He needs to get a clear message. He’s not going to get the sentence of his convenience given the totality of what he’s facing.”

Criminal defence attorney Anthony Dawson argued that his client, who has been experiencing homelessness, is repeatedly stealing food items to survive. Dawson made the distinction between theft for the purpose of survival, and theft inspired by greed.

He also highlighted that his client’s alcohol addiction and a challenging upbringing has played a significant role when it comes to his client breaking the law.

“I tell your honour that Mr. George was effectively stealing meat. He wasn’t stealing different products or things to resell. He’s dealing things to subsist on due to a homelessness situation. Every now and again he would come in to money. He unfortunately, is also dealing with an alcohol addiction. So anytime that he did come into some money, he would end up using it to buy more alcohol, to feed that addiction,” Dawson said, prior to Judge Sullivan issuing his sentence.

“You’re getting highly impaired, blacking out and making some poor decisions in the wake alcohol you eat. It’s easy to understand how alcohol has come to play a role in your life, and I will mention this as well, I recognize a very difficult upbringing, a lot of challenges in your life,” Judge Sullivan said.

“When you repeat the same behaviour over and over and over again, you need to recognize that the consequences for doing that, generally speaking, increase. You’ll see that reflected here in the sentence,” the judge added.

George took accountability for all the charges levelled against him, and showed remorse when addressing the court via Zoom from Brandon’s Correctional Centre.

“I feel very bad for doing what I did. It’s very hard for me. It’s a vicious cycle, I drink to feel better from my past. My parents were alcoholics. They had a rough upbringing, and when I drink, I blackout, and then I go do what I do. I feel like shaking the next morning. I don’t want to be behind bars, it doesn’t feel good,” George said, before pledging an intention to seek treatment for alcohol abuse once he’s released.

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