Stephen Miller has been sentenced to serve 12 months in jail, less his time served, after pleading guilty to a lengthy list of charges in Kindersley provincial court on Jan. 16.
A joint submission was presented to Judge Robert Jackson on Jan. 16 in Kindersley. The charges required both provincial and federal Crown prosecutors to be present, but the federal prosecutor appeared by phone.
Dorinda Stahl, the provincial Crown prosecutor, read the charges to the court and both prosecutors spoke to their parts of the joint submission. Murray Pelletier, the Legal Aid defence lawyer representing Miller, entered several guilty pleas on behalf of his client.
Miller had charges stemming from several incidents and guilty pleas were entered on several of his charges while other charges were stayed upon the conclusion of sentencing. The Crown prosecutors presented consecutive and concurrent jail terms as part of a global sentence. The total number of days added up to about 12 months in prison.
Stahl said the joint submission is for a 12-month global sentence. The Crown proceeded by summary conviction on several of the charges, but other charges were dealt with by indictment. The Crown also asked for a one-year driving prohibition.
Miller had spent 26 days in custody waiting to be sentenced, so Stahl said he is receiving 40 days credit as a result. Pelletier said in the spirit of the resolution that was agreed to by the defence, the submission is for 12 months less 40 days in jail.
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Stahl said Miller, who was arrested on Dec. 21, has a criminal record. She noted that the accused is “no stranger to provincial court” and he has racked up a “motley crew” of offences over time. Miller’s criminal record includes breaches for court compliance and charges of property crimes, she said.
Court heard that Miller’s current charges were accrued in about the past year. The charges include four counts of possession of property obtained by crime and one count was amended to include aspects of two other counts.
Other charges include obstructing a peace officer, causing a disturbance in public, unlawfully being in a dwelling house, uttering threats, committing fraud with a value not exceeding $5,000, failing to comply with a probation order, and two counts of possessing controlled substances.
Miller also had a ticket for having an open liquor container in a public place. Pelletier entered a guilty plea to the ticket on behalf of his client. The accused was ordered to pay a fine of $250 and Jackson gave him until Sept. 30, 2019, to pay the fine.
Stahl provided the court with facts related to each of the incidents. In one case, Miller got into a verbal disagreement with his mother at her home and his mother asked him to leave. The accused refused to leave and he threatened to burn down the home, so he was charged with unlawfully being in a dwelling and uttering threats.
The fraud charge stemmed from an incident where Miller broke in to a vehicle and stole a person’s bank card. He was seen using the bank card’s tap option at a store and used the card three times before he was caught.
In another incident on Dec. 18, the accused was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Police discovered small bags believed to contain controlled substances, and they also found stolen property in his possession. One of the bags tested positive for cocaine and the other bag contained methamphetamine.
Court heard more about charges involving the possession of stolen property.
Stahl said it is clear from Miller’s charges that he has concerns with property crime and it is due to his addictions. He possessed stolen items of sentimental value to the owners, she said.
Several stolen items have been recovered and Stahl said the police are in the process of getting the items back to their rightful
owners.
People feel violated when their vehicles and homes are victimized, she told the court.
She stressed that she believes people need to be protected to feel safe in the community, so a custodial sentence was the best way to protect the community.
The federal Crown told the court the amount of illicit drugs in Miller’s possession are considered to be small for a user with addictions.
Pelletier said his 49-year-old client, a father of two adult children, was first impacted by the economic downturn in the resource industry, and then things started to spiral downward. Miller was forthright enough to confess to his charges, he added.
Jackson said he would “exceed to the joint submission” for 12 months less 40 days in jail. The judge ordered the man to pay $800 in victim surcharge fines, and he was given until Sept. 30, 2019 to pay. Miller also received the one-year driving prohibition.
Man gets elevated fine for impaired driving
Richard Cales has pleaded guilty to driving while his ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired, and a previous conviction has resulted in a higher fine.
Kindersley court heard on Jan. 16 that Cales had a previous conviction for driving under the influence, but it is an old conviction from 1999. The Crown proceeded as if it were a first offence, but provincial court Judge Robert Jackson ordered Cales to pay an elevated fine for driving with a blood-alcohol content higher than the legal limit.
The minimum for a first offence is a fine of $1,000 and a victim surcharge fine of $300, along with a 12-month driving prohibition.
Jackson ordered Cales to pay a fine of $1,200 and a victim surcharge fine of $360. He received the minimum 12-month driving prohibition.
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