An area man who participated in several break-ins was told by a Brantford judge to accept help for his addictions or risk going back to jail.
Michael Henry Anderson, 33, pleaded guilty to 11 offenses over the course of a year, with the most serious being break-ins at a West Street health clinic and a Lynden Road car dealership.
“You need to handle this addiction better than you have been,” Ontario Court Justice Colette Good told Anderson.
“You now have a five-page record and, no matter how small an offense you commit, it’s pretty much always going to open the door to jail.”
Good sentenced the man to time served of 443 days and ordered him to spend a further 287 days in jail for a two-year sentence, which she called “the least amount of time the court could impose” given the number of charges and “sheer volume” of offenses on Anderson’s record.
She also placed him on probation for a year.
“While I appreciate that you don’t seem to prioritize court orders when you’ve been placed on probation in the past, it’s been to help you break this cycle. This probation is to keep you away from those businesses you victimized, not to rehabilitate you. I hope you can do that yourself.”
Court was told that, in spring of 2020, Anderson and an accomplishment were tipped off by cleaners working at the places targeted for break-ins. Security alarms were left unarmed and doors propped open.
At the health clinic, three laptops and a cash box that contained $4,000 to $5,000 were stolen.
At the car dealership, four Samsung tablets, a laptop and metal items to sell for scrap were stolen. The thieves later returned with a cargo van and began taking tools and a Nintendo Switch game before setting off an alarm and fleeing. The stolen items were worth $8,700, assistant Crown attorney Alex Burns told the judge.
While his driver’s license was suspended, Anderson drove while impaired and, in February 2021, was seen driving a new Ford Fusion while trying to sell scrap metal to a recycler.
“The yard manager found it suspicious that people in a brand new car were selling scrap metal and contacted police,” said Burns.
The vehicle had been reported stolen.
Also, in February 2021, Anderson was found by police parked at a Clarence Street gas station, slouched over the wheel while the car was running.
When police knocked on his window, he took his foot off the brake, rolling into the police cruiser and causing minor damage. Then he refused to get out of the vehicle and reached for something in the console. Police found a small kitchen knife and a bag of what was identified as crack cocaine.
Anderson also admitted to stealing a man’s wallet, containing credit and debit cards and $950, that was accidentally left at a convenience store.
All together, Anderson pleaded guilty to the two break-ins, four breaches of court orders, stealing the wallet, fraud with a debit card, driving while impaired, possession of cocaine and possession of the stolen vehicle.
Defense lawyer Dale Henderson told the judge that Anderson became addicted to pain medication after an injury and hospitalization but his pain is now under control.
“I apologize,” Anderson told the judge.
“I’m not proud of what I’ve done.”
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