Sarnia man has bail hearing cut short after raising middle finger in the courtroom

Sarnia man wanted on fraud over 5K charge arrested prepping

Braeden Fletcher may have set the record for having one of the shortest bail hearings at the Sarnia courthouse.

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The 24-year-old Sarnia resident, who was arrested earlier this week after making the Sarnia police wanted list, had a bail hearing set for Wednesday afternoon. But justice of the peace Kelly Jackson cut it short mother seconds after Fletcher stepped into the prisoner’s box when she saw him give the middle finger to someone in the courtroom.

“OK, I’m not going to accept that,” Jackson said before storming off the bench.

Fletcher, wearing a white T-shirt with his hands cuffed, was quickly whisked back out of the courtroom by security and the clerk announced a recess. Following a brief break, he was brought back into the box and Jackson said his bail hearing would not be going ahead.

“When Mr. Fletcher was originally brought before the court he showed a level of disrespect and vulgar gestures that inclined me not to hear his matter today,” she said.

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She adjourned the hearing to next week.

“Where it might be more of Mr. Fletcher’s – in his better judgment to behave,” she said.

“I apologize,” Fletcher said.

But then, while Jackson was looking down at his paperwork and laptop to find a new date, he cracked a smile.

“Your worship, again, Mr. Fletcher’s smiling here in the courtroom,” assistant Crown attorney Aniko Coughlan said. “I’m not sure what’s lost on him today about how to conduct himself properly in court.”

“He can have some time at the jail to think about it,” Jackson said before adjourning his hearing to Tuesday.

Following a brief discussion of a separate case, Coughlan returned to Fletcher’s and told Jackson there had been an inappropriate exchange between Fletcher’s proposed security and three women as they were leaving the courtroom.

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“I understand that the proposed security made some commentary to the three females in the back that the Crown would feel (is) not necessarily criminal in nature, but certainly inappropriate,” she said.

She showed Jackson what the comment was and had court security, who witnessed the exchange, confirmed it. As a result, Jackson disqualified herself from presiding over Fletcher’s bail hearing next week and another justice of the peace will have to hear it.

Sarnia police probe

Fletcher, who has four sets of outstanding charges, was featured on the Sarnia police Wanted Wednesday social media campaign Oct. 30. Police said he was wanted on charges of fraud worth more than $5,000 and failing to wait court. He recently didn’t show up for a trial, which had to be rescheduled.

There was some confusion on social media on the evening of Oct. 30 that Fletcher was the target as the Sarnia police emergency response team pulled over a vehicle at Russell and Durand streets. A Facebook account associated with Fletcher responded to the comment that it wasn’t him, but that he’d be turning himself in soon.

It’s unclear if Fletcher turned himself in or was caught by police, but he was brought in handcuffs into the Sarnia courtroom Monday afternoon.

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