A Sarnia judge said Lee Grant’s series of offenses were quite troubling.
A Sarnia judge said Lee Grant’s series of offenses were quite troubling.
“And I say that specifically with respect to your possession of the knife and the manner in which you used it after committing an offense at The Home Depot,” Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski said.
Grant, 29, went into the Quinn Drive hardware store on Feb. 7, grabbed a Milwaukee 6.5-inch circular saw and a Ridgid 18-volt four-tool combo kit worth nearly $700 in total, and walked out without paying. Two bystanders witnessed the theft, followed him to an area of the Howard Watson Trail and Exmouth Street, and tried to hold him for police.
“However, while attempting to detain him, he had pulled out a knife in an attempt to flee,” assistant Crown attorney Ryan Iaquinta said while reading an agreed statement of facts. “The two were successful in disarming Mr. Grant until police arrived shortly after and he was taken into custody.”
Another incident that drew attention in the Sarnia courtroom took place less than a month ago. Police were called three times on April 22 about a man and a woman acting strangely in the Sycamore Drive and Indian Road North area. Sarnia Police Const. Isaac Baird recognized Grant and knew he had an outstanding arrest warrant.
Grant, who did not want to be arrested that Friday morning, screamed: “I’m not resisting.”
“He screamed this as he was actively resisting,” Iaquinta said.
The part-time roofer with a substance-abuse issue continued to struggle with Baird until more officers showed up to help. They finally got him near the back of the cruiser in a seated position.
“He proceeded to lean back and kick Const. Baird in the stomach,” Iaquinta said.
Grant was eventually locked in the backseat but he kept yelling at police during the ride to headquarters. At one point he uttered this statement: “I’m going to spit a big (expletive) loogie in your face as soon as you open this door.”
“Most regrettably, I am instructed those facts are substantially correct and admitted,” defense lawyer Terry Brandon said after Iaquinta finished reading the facts.
Grant pleaded guilty Friday to seven charges linked to those two and multiple other incidents and was handed 30 days in jail, along with a suspended sentence and probation, as both lawyers suggested. Leszczynski said jail time is appropriate.
“Frankly, the (sentence) that’s been put forward is on the light side,” she added.
The judge, though, noted Grant had a limited prior criminal record and there were issues had the case gone to trial, as Brandon previously pointed out.
Grant had enough pre-sentence custody credit to fully serve the month-long jail term. The probation order, which bans him from weapons, contacting multiple people and going to several Sarnia addresses, including The Home Depot, will last for 15 months.
Other charges were withdrawn.