Facing 18 months, Sarnia thief seeks – and gets – longer sentence

A Sarnia judge was almost finished sentencing Kenneth Carrothers to 18 months in jail for a series of thefts when the offender interrupted him.

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“If you’re going to be sentencing me at 18 months, can I please ask you: Can you give me two years plus a day please, sir? Because there’s not really much in the provincial system,” he said in a Sarnia court recently. “I’ve been to federal (prison) and it really helped me out. They’ve got a lot of programs out there for me.”

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In Ontario, sentences of up to two years less a day are served in provincial jails, while inmates who receive two years or more head to federal prisons. Carrothers, who’s long battled a crystal meth addiction, wanted to be sent to prison to get drug treatment while serving his sentence.

Justice Mark Poland said it’s unusual to be interrupted while handing down a sentence – Carrothers already had been given a chance to address the court – then turned to duty counsel David Burns, who was representing the 46-year-old Sarnia man. Burns said it’s unusual to advocate for more time behind bars and leave it up to the judge.

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Poland then turned to assistant Crown attorney Aniko Coughlan.

“This is a very unusual situation, your honor, but Mr. Carrothers is certainly very articulate today and as you can see from his record, he’s familiar with both systems,” she said.

Poland initially said he’d recommend Carrothers serve his 18-month sentence at the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Center, a Brockville facility run jointly by the Health and Corrections ministries that offers assessment and treatment of inmates. But after hearing from all three parties, the judge granted Carrothers’ request and sentenced him to two years behind bars.

“Hopefully, Mr. Carrothers, you get some help in the federal institution,” he said. “You’ve got a terrible record before the court, but it is not too late for you to turn this around.”

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Before Carrothers’ unusual request, his past criminal record, handed over to the judge, drew a reaction.

“Oh, my Lord,” Poland said. “That is weighty, to be sure.”

To save short time, he had the clerk count the number of convictions it contained while he listened to lawyers argue what they thought Carrothers’ sentence should be. The final tally was one of the highest figures heard recently in a Sarnia courtroom.

“This man has 117 prior convictions,” the judge said. “He’s decided that he’s just not playing by society’s rules. He’s just not going to do it.”

Carrothers, 46, picked up 10 more convictions after pleading guilty recently to six counts of theft worth less than $5,000, three counts of failing to comply with a release order and one count of breaching probation. The latest convictions were all linked to incidents at Winners and Real Canadian Superstore in Sarnia between March and July.

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Carrothers stole random items, ranging from cologne and headphones to electric toothbrushes, and usually was confronted by loss-prevention officers before fleeing on foot.

“The facts are really strikingly similar,” Poland said.

Burns said Carrothers has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the past, had no fixed address and was battling addiction when the offenses occurred.

“Addiction’s a horrible disease,” he said.

Carrothers apologized to the court. “I knew it was wrong,” he said.

He doesn’t plan to return to Sarnia when he’s released, he added. “There’s nothing here for me.”

Carrothers was banned from being in Sarnia in 2014 as part of a 60-day sentence for smashing a business’s windows. He got another 60 days later that year.

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