'House arrest is not party time,' Sault judge warns

Mark Halford's cocaine addiction landed him in trouble with the law.

And following a court appearance last week, the 47-year-old faces a 12-month custodial sentence, which he will serve in the community.

He pleaded guilty to five charges: break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, mischief, breach of an undertaking, and two counts of failing to attend court.

The offences occurred during a three-year period, Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek heard Friday,

On Aug. 26, 2020, police received a weapons complaint about people who were breaking into a trailer on Garden River First Nation.

The complainant was calling from a home next door, assistant Crown attorney Blair Hagan said.

When officers arrived, they noted the trailer door was wide open, the window was broken and items were strewn around.

They later stopped a vehicle, driven by Halford, where they found a number of items missing from the trailer.

The accused missed two court dates on June 21, 2021 and Jan. 10 of last year.

On July 19, he breached an undertaking that prohibited him from going to Garden River.

The Ontario Provincial Police received a complaint about two people on Highway 17B who were attempting to remove a catalytic converter from a Ford pickup.

Hagan and defence lawyer Ken Walker jointly recommended the 12-month conditional sentence.

Halford should spend the first six months under house arrest, and the remainder with a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, they suggested.

The custody should be followed by two years probation, Hagan said.

Walker said the charges stem from his client's drug problem.

There were identity issues, but Halford, the father of two, is accepting responsibility for his actions and is putting this behind him, he told Kwolek.

When he imposed sentence, the judge noted the accused has a dated, unrelated record for a 2005 offence.

Kwolek called the guilty pleas a mitigating factor that demonstrate remorse, and noted there were triable issues.

During the first six months of his sentence Halford will be under house arrest, and can only leave his residence for medical emergencies and to obtain the necessities of life for four hours on Friday afternoons.

"House arrest is not party time," Kwolek also told him, indicating he is not to have any alcohol or other addictive substances during the sentence.

As well, he must take any recommended counselling and rehabilitative programs for substance abuse, and can have no contact with the complainants.

Once Halford completes the sentence, he will be on probation for 24 months with similar conditions.

Kwolek also imposed a 10-year weapons prohibition and ordered him to provide a DNA sample for the national database.