It didn't take long for Garrett Augustin to violate his probation and he did it in a very public way.
He was banned from possessing weapons in late December, 2024, and on Feb. 7, just before 6 p.m., he was in the Canadian Tire parking lot stabbing traffic pylons with a knife.
On Tuesday, he was in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom where he pleaded guilty to three charges stemming from his actions that day.
Augustin, 29, pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited knife and breaching his probation for having a weapon and failing to keep the peace.
Ontario Court Justice Heather Mendes heard when city police officers spoke to him, he told them he had a switch blade in the groin area of his pants.
When the cops searched Augustin they found a prohibited weapon – a knife that opened with centrifugal force, prosecutor Adrianna Mucciarelli said.
The accused was bound by numerous orders to keep the peace, and here he is standing outside Canadian Tire, a busy business, with a prohibited knife, she told the judge.
The Crown called for 30 days in jail and a 10-year weapons prohibition.
Augustin, who was self-represented, agreed with the proposed sentence.
"I've been trying my best to stay out of trouble," he explained "I only had the knife for one day."
He said he was keeping it for a friend and "I made a stupid mistake."
As well, he told Mendes "I'm going to go back to Toronto to get myself together and put this behind me."
When the judge imposed the sentence, she noted "you have quite a record for someone your age."
With the enhanced credit of 27 days he received for the time he's spent in pre-sentence custody, he faced a further three days behind bars.
Mendes also prohibited him from possessing weapons for a decade.