A man Sarnia police asked the public to help track down amid numerous allegations of theft has been sentenced to 150 days in jail.
Article content
As part of its #WantedWednesday social media campaign, Sarnia police in late May asked for information leading to the capture of Kevin Simmons, a five-foot-six, 140-pound 51-year-old Sarnia man wanted for theft worth less than $5,000 from local retailers and failing to comply with release orders. Police posted two photos of Simmons, one a headshot and the other from a retail store’s video surveillance footage, which appears to be the Real Canadian Superstore in Sarnia.
In a followup post on May 29, police published the same poster, this time with a “located” banner overtop the photos and thanked the public for their help in finding him. But Simmons quickly got bail and picked up new charges.
In jail again, Simmons recently was brought into a Sarnia courtroom where he pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft worth less than $5,000, three counts of breaching lease, and single counts of breaching an undertaking and breaching probation. The thefts and breaches were linked to several stores in Sarnia including the Real Canadian Superstore, Home Depot, Shoppers Drug Marts on Exmouth Street and Indian Road, Winners, No Frills, and Mobil.
Article content
Nila Mulpuru, Lambton’s acting Crown attorney, said there were 11 similar cases before the courts and many of the offenses took place just after he got bail.
“Mr. Simmons immediately reoffended,” she said. “These are flagrant offenses of non-compliance.”
Defense lawyer Joseph Stoesser said his client became addicted to painkillers after getting surgery for work-related injuries in 2013. He battled that addiction with methadone for several years, but his life took a turn for the worse in 2022 when he lost his relationship and became homeless and addicted to fentanyl.
Now, he’s stealing from stores to get food and to fence items for drug money.
“It’s a tragic tale, Mr. Simmons. Unfortunately it’s not an uncommon one,” Justice Mark Hornblower said to him. “It speaks to the nature of the substance as opposed to the character of the person.”
He imposed the 150-day sentence the Crown asked for, calling it fair, and added a two-year probation order banning him from all those stores.
Share this article in your social network