A man charged with forgery and possession of stolen items was sentenced to seven months in jail at the Stettler provincial court on Thursday, March 12.
Appearing by closed-circuit television from Red Deer Remand Centre, Nicholas DeLorenzo pleaded guilty to two charges of forgery, two charges of possession of stolen property and one charge of failing to comply with conditions.
The court heard that on Jan. 31, DeLorenzo and another accused were arrested in Stettler after a concerned citizen phoned the police regarding suspicious behaviour at the Stettler Post Office. When RCMP Const. Wheeler attended the scene, he found the two men. In their possession he found forged cheques, stolen identification, and a stolen cellphone. In addition to that, DeLorenzo admitted to consuming alcohol.
The 37-year-old has a lengthy rap sheet, though the crimes on them are significantly apart, a sign of DeLorenzo’s struggles with drugs. When he is able to stay clean, he doesn’t break the law. When he can’t, he ends up in jail.
He’s worked in the oil rig industry and has all the tickets necessary to do that, and has a young son he supports – most recently as a garage door installer. He also has taken steps to be accepted into Grace House – a drug rehabilitation centre – once his sentence is complete.
The court was told that DeLorenzo regrets what happened on Jan. 31, though he can’t remember much of it due to being intoxicated with both drugs and alcohol.
“I want to apologize to the community of Stettler,” DeLorenzo said, when he had a chance to speak. “We were passing through and we relapsed on meth(amphetamines). I’m going to continue on my road to recovery, and I hope I can there sooner than later so I can get back with my son.”
Given his lengthy record, Judge Yake sentenced DeLorenzo to a total of seven months in jail.
“You’ve had a lot of chances to rehabilitate,” Judge Yake said. “You’re not a young man.”
Judge Yake warned that any new charges would result in consecutive sentences, rather than concurrent, lengthening DeLorenzo’s time in jail.