A Sarnia judge asked his court clerk for a copy of John Loxton’s prior criminal record and spent a couple of minutes looking at it.
“That is an appealing record,” Justice Mark Poland said. “My goodness.”
Defense lawyer Robert McFadden, who’s represented Loxton for decades, agreed.
“There’s nothing I can say about that record,” he said, noting his client repeatedly steals from Sarnia stores to fuel a drug addiction.
The court heard facts related to Loxton’s latest convictions – a series of thefts, mostly from Sarnia’s LCBO and Giant Tiger stores, and probation breaches – and arguments from both lawyers that he should serve one year and four months behind bars. After giving Loxton, 37, a chance to address the court, Poland again asked the clerk for a copy of his record.
This time he called it unimaginably long and repetitive.
“Theft, theft, theft, theft, theft. Breach, breach, breach, breach, breach. There’s some drug charges in there. I can’t count how many entries are on Mr. Loxton’s record – I don’t have enough time to do that,” he said.
He was sentenced in 2016 to 100 days in jail for telling a security person he had a knife after stealing cologne from a store. In 2017, he received another 45 days for theft.
The judge called him a professional, albeit extremely unsuccessful, thief.
“You should never get released when you’re arrested, ever. That’s because you’ve demonstrated a commitment to crime. For years and years you’ve inflicted extreme hardship on the community,” he said.
The Sarnia police board again discussed the issue of the so-called catch-and-release justice system during its meeting earlier this month and plans on joining other boards and a provincial organization in speaking out publicly on the issue.
“It’s time that we really start to push back,” board member Kelly Ash said during the Dec. 8 meeting.
During Loxton’s sentencing last week, Poland pointed out he’s not just stealing from faceless corporations.
“These are businesses that are out there trying to make a go of it, sir. When you’re out there stealing from them it erodes what everyone else in society is doing to get by,” he said.
Assistant Crown Attorney Sarah Carmody agreed.
“It’s death by a thousand cuts sometimes for these types of places, your honour, and they can’t sustain the significant petty theft that occurs on a regular basis,” she said. “Mr. Loxton is a prolific repeat offender. A message should be sent to him with a significant period of incarceration that these types of offenses won’t be tolerated.”
Poland imposed the suggested 16-month sentence, but added he’ll recommend he serve it at the Ontario Correctional Institute, a Brampton jail home to a well-known drug addiction recovery program.
“Good luck to you, sir,” he said. “We all need you to succeed at this, not just you.”
McFadden said his client’s longtime drug of choice has been meth, but lately he’s been using fentanyl, too.
“He’s been playing Russian roulette with that too,” he said. “Usually when John’s arrested the police are saving his life.”
Loxton, who’s been in jail since his most recent arrest a month ago, has one year and two-plus months to serve after obtaining credit for pre-sentence custody. Poland added a three-year probation order that will be in effect after he’s released that bans him from going to any LCBO or Giant Tiger store in the entire province.