SUMMERSIDE – A Kinkora youth was sentenced Wednesday to eight months in custody in connection with a spate of vandalism that included damage to the International Children’s Memorial Park.
The 17-year-old appeared in youth court on six counts of damage to property and two counts of breaking and entering.
The property damage offences each occurred on Sept. 30.
Several residents in the Kinkora and Freetown areas reported damage to cars and windows. It was determined the youth was driving around the area, firing the gun at various objects.
Also on Sept. 30, between midnight and 4 a.m., he went to the International Children’s Memorial Place on Scales Pond Road and fired the BB gun at the school house on the property, causing $449.27 in damages.
Vice-chair of the park, Bill MacLean, was in court Wednesday and said he had mixed emotions about the sentence.
“I feel two different ways on it,” he said.
“This is the end result of something in this young man’s life, and if we knew the beginning and the middle of the story we’d probably understand why it happened. There has to be something we can do with these young people rather than just lock them up in jail.”
In addition to the damage to property charges, the youth also pleaded guilty to charges of breaking and entering in October at the old Ultramar station on the Freetown Road.
A police investigation revealed the teen also gained access to a Kinkora residence and caused extensive damage to a flue, fridge, stove, toilet, bathroom sink and wall.
All told, the damages related to the BB gun offences and the break and enters totalled over $10,000.
Judge Jeff Lantz handed down the eight-month sentence for the two break and enter charges, as well as 60 concurrent days for the damage to property offences.
The youth will also spend five months under community supervision after his release and help make restitution to the victims.
He received a two-year probationary term and must undergo assessment and treatment for addictions.
A second youth was accused in each of the crimes. His case was adjourned until Wednesday, Dec. 2 so he could speak with a lawyer.