CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A P.E.I. man who committed several thefts and was found living in a building despite not having permission to be there was sentenced recently to 170 days in jail.
John Jason MacLean, 44, appeared before Judge Jeff Lantz in provincial court in Charlottetown by video where he was sentenced on seven charges including mischief, several court order breaches and three counts of theft.
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Crown attorney Emily Campbell told the court MacLean committed the first theft in November 2019 when he was caught at a Sobeys taking two items and paying for a third.
The stolen items were valued at $11.68.
MacLean’s next theft was at the Confederation Court Mall in January 2020 where he stole a cordless drill from an unattended utility cart.
That theft was caught on video.
Campbell said MacLean and another male went to King of Clubs in Charlottetown in August where they were seen tampering with a security camera.
MacLean told police he stole the camera, but the court heard he wouldn’t identify the other man.
Later that month, a property representative for an Upper Hillsborough Street building called the police because someone was living in a room without permission.
Campbell said that room was supposed to be vacant at the time.
The court heard that in September, MacLean was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet as a condition of a release order when he was shown going to multiple known drug locations without approval.
MacLean also breached his probation and missed a court date.
Campbell told the court there have been several incident reports at the jail involving MacLean, including an attempt to avoid taking medication and not wanting to be tested despite having possible COVID-19 symptoms.
The court heard MacLean also called jail staff names, swore at them and made veiled threats.
Before hearing his sentence, MacLean said he thought he had a place to live but apparently the person who gave him permission to live in the Upper Hillsborough Street building didn’t have the ability to let him stay there.
MacLean said he apologized to everyone involved with his crimes.
Along with the jail time, MacLean will be on probation for 18 months after his release and he must pay almost $300 in restitution.
Ryan Ross is the justice reporter for The Guardian.
Twitter.com/ryanrross
