CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A Murray River man who broke into a home, stole high-end items including two motorcycles, a washer and a dryer then tried to sell some of them was sentenced recently to six months in jail.
Andrew Charles Dean appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to the break and enter.
Reviewing the facts of the break-in that Dean committed sometime between May 25 and June 3, Orr said he had been in the process of buying the property in Belle River, the deal fell through and he got upset.
Orr said Dean took what he thought was owed to him, which included a washer, a dryer and two motorcycles.
Effort was needed to steal the items, Orr said.
Dean later had the items in his front yard trying to sell them and he had an accident on one of the motorcycles, which was destroyed.
The other motorcycle was recovered.
Crown attorney Nathan Beck told the court Dean stole more than $8,000 worth of items.
Dean addressed the court before hearing his sentence, saying he knew the offence was serious, he has since stopped drinking and he is working on keeping his job.
He asked to serve his sentence on weekends and said he wants to give back to the victims what he took from them.
Orr said a victim impact statement set out the difficulties the homeowner experienced as they were preparing to sell the property and had to spend time fixing and cleaning it.
Dean had a prior record that included thefts and being unlawfully in a dwelling.
Along with the jail time, which he will serve as straight time and not on weekends, Dean will be on probation for two years after his release.
Orr also banned Dean from driving during the first year of his probation.
Dean must pay $6,420 in restitution, he must provide a DNA sample for the national databank and he will be under a weapons prohibition for 10 years.
