Sarnia man jailed 2 years for break-ins throughout the city, Bright’s Grove

One of the two people charged in a rash of high-priced thefts in the Sarnia and Bright’s Grove area last year using a stolen business pickup truck has been sentenced to almost two years in jail.

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But Cole Dew, 29, narrowly missed a trip to prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to 16 charges including five counts of breaking, entering and theft, four counts of possessing stolen property, three counts of mischief, and one count of fraud.

“These charges, quite frankly, amount to something of a crime spree,” Justice Kevin Sherwood told him. “This series of events that we are dealing with today could well have put you into a penitentiary sentence.”

Sarnia police said last year, a 2012 white GMC pickup truck was stolen from Ortec Environment Services on Scott Road, an industrial area in south Sarnia, on Feb. 27. The pickup had company decals on the sides, but they were covered up with spray paint, police said.

The painted pickup was used March 6 to 7 during a series of break-ins on Stoneridge Court, Kenwick Street, and Old Lakeshore Road at Marion Avenue – a church is located at that corner – where various items were stolen including a generator, a motorcycle , construction tools, and a wheel, police said.

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The pickup was recovered, but the thefts were still under investigation, police said on March 8.

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Two weeks later, police said investigators identified and arrested two suspects: Dew, then 28, and Wyatt Mitchell, 32. Mitchell was charged with 12 counts of possessing stolen property, eight counts of breaking and entering with intent to commit an offense, three counts of mischief, and two counts of theft of a vehicle.

Dew’s list of charges grew from 10 to 25 following additional incidents on Magnolia Lane on March 12 involving stolen bank cards and on Sandy Lane on March 15 linked to a pair of motorcycles that were damaged.

Following Dew’s 16 guilty pleas Tuesday, which also included three counts of breaching probation, both lawyers asked for 23 months in jail minus pre-plea custody. Defense lawyer Terry Brandon told the judge her client knew he could’ve gone to prison for this, but she and the Crown agreed to suggest jail so he could also get two years of probation.

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“With a real hope for rehabilitation here,” she said.

Brandon added he wasn’t a criminal mastermind.

“But he is an addict who was struggling,” she said. “It doesn’t diminish the outcome.”

The judge imposed the recommended sentence, which had him with about seven months left to serve, but also cautioned Dew he needs to focus on addressing his drug problem.

“If you do not find a way to deal with the addictions issue, you are undoubtedly going to come into conflict again with the law in the future, and if that happens, you can only reasonably expect to be going to jail for longer and longer periods of time,” he said.

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Dew recently finished serving a six-month jail sentence for a series of break-ins in Corunna and a dangerous motorcycle chase through Sarnia. A Sarnia judge blasted Dew during his sentencing hearing for his behavior as a woman was on the back of the motorcycle while he fled police.

Dew briefly addressed the court Tuesday.

“I’d just like to apologize for my actions,” he said.

His probation order includes a ban on going to seven addresses in Sarnia and Bright’s Grove and from talking to six people, including Mitchell.

Mitchell returns to court in Sarnia on Feb. 4.

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