Joseph Rainville pleaded guilty to a number of lesser charges and was released after serving nearly 120 days in jail after a hearing before Judge J.A. Hunter in Alberta Provincial Court.
On Thursday, June 25, Rainville appeared by CCTV from Red Deer Remand Centre, where he has been held since his arrest earlier this year, his bail request having been denied.
Originally, Rainville faced five charges of theft of a motor vehicle, two charges each of fraud under $5,000, use of forged documents and possession of stolen property, and a charge each housebreaking, possession of firearm and prohibited weapon, theft under $5,000, and failure to comply with undertaking stemming from late January and February 2015.
In the end, the firearms, housebreaking and failure to comply charges were withdrawn, as were one set of fraud, forged documents and possession of stolen property charges. Rainville pleaded guilty to the charges of theft of a motor vehicle, fraud under $5,000, use of forged documents, and possession of stolen property under $5,000.
The Court heard that on Jan. 30, 2015, Rainville stole a Ford F150 in Red Deer and drove to Stettler overnight, and picked up a female youth on Jan. 31. From there, the two travelled to get a second, male, youth, and proceeded to drive around in the stolen truck, which eventually became stuck. The three abandoned a vehicle and stole a truck from a nearby residence and continued to drive, before once again becoming stuck. At this point, the trio stole a third truck, returned to the first stolen truck, and set it on fire before going to a residence and stealing a third truck.
The trio, now driving about in the two vehicles, found another residence where they abandoned the trucks and stole a car, and returned to Red Deer.
On Feb. 12, Rainville's grandparents attended Stettler RCMP to inform the police that their grandson had taken a cheque from their business and filled it out to J. Rainville, and cashed it for $900 on Feb. 5.
On Feb. 25, Rainville attended the Stettler FasGas where he filled up the tank of his vehicle to the tune of nearly $73. He then left the station without paying, and the RCMP were called. Rainville was located and arrested.
Though his counsel had previously asked for bail in Rainville's first appearance earlier this year, it was denied due to the number of crimes appearing before the court, Rainville's addiction issues, and previous criminal record, much of which is a juvenile record, but is of the same type, according to Judge Hunter.
Hunter, who was once the mayor of Stettler before becoming a judge, offered to recuse himself on the matter involving Rainville's grandparents, as he had previously, many years ago, done business with the pair's company. Rainville indicated that he did not object to the judge handling the case, and so the judge remained.
Though Rainville had been in jail for 119 days by the time of the June 25 hearing, he pleaded guilty early into the judicial process, only having appeared before a judge twice previously on these charges.
Judge Hunter noted that the crimes committed by Rainville were serious.
“He was on probation for fraud, and he does a gas and dash,” Judge Hunter noted. “With a record, that's very serious.”
He ordered Rainville to repay the gas station for the money owing.
The 19-year-old was also ordered to repay his grandparents the $900 he stole from them, and gave him four months to do so.
According to Rainville's counsel, an uncle had a job waiting for him when he was released from remand, and Rainville also intends to seek counselling for his drug issues so that he does not continue on the path he has been on for the past few years.
“Taking into account the early guilty plea, issues with evidence and taking into account your record, which is mostly youth – but of the same type of charges we see here,” Judge Hunter said. “You were on probation for fraud at the time, and that is very problematic. But the joint submission (from Rainville's counsel and the Crown counsel) are within range, so I'll go along.”
In the end, Rainville was sentenced to six months in jail, which considering the credit for time served, means that Rainville's 119 days had fulfilled his sentence.
In addition to the two restitution orders, Rainville also had several victim services fines which he will be required to pay.
Warrants issued
Warrants were issued for several individuals who did not attend court, including Amanda Ruby, who had previously been warned she must attend court or she would be arrested. Her own counsel appeared at court and advised the Judge he had told his client so.
Though it may take time for a case to be called, all cases are slated to begin at 10 a.m. and being late can have consequences, as Valerie Morris learned.
Morris, who is facing federal criminal charges in relation to drug trafficking, arrived at court late, after her case had been called and a warrant issued.
A sheriff arrested Morris at the courthouse, and she will now see a failure to attend court charge added to the three she is already facing.
Cassidy brothers plead guilty
Cody and Gregory Cassidy, charged by Alberta Wildlife on hunting charges, pleaded guilty to some of the charges before the court.
Cody Cassidy pleaded guilty to hunting wildlife without a licence, possessing wildlife, and providing false or misleading information.
Gregory Cassidy pleaded guilty to possession of wildlife.
However, an agreed statement of facts from the Crown and the Cassidy's counsel was not available, and was required by the court to be provided by July 13.
The remaining charges would be dealt with at a future court date.
By request of the Cassidy's counsel, the remaining charges will be heard on July 20 in Red Deer.
When asked why the request for venue change by Judge Hunter, the Cassidy's counsel advised the court that it was simply easier for all parties involved. Judge Hunter therefore agreed to the venue change.