A 19-year-old man from Edmonton was fined $780, including surcharges, for being in possession of a controlled substance.
Gregory Sinclair made a guilty plea during his court appearance June 25. Crown attorney Mark Facundo told the court that RCMP responded to two men were causing issues at Riverfront Park Sept. 11, 2017.
Facundo then said an officer smelled marijuana, and then searched Sinclair's backpack, in which they found both methamphetamine and marijuana inside. This resulted in Sinclair's arrest and charge for possession.
Before his sentence was handed down, defence lawyer Richard Forbes mentioned that Sinclair currently lives with his grandmother, is currently working on getting his high school diploma, and has a history of working in the fast-food industry. Forbes added that Sinclair is presently unemployed.
Judge Clifton Purvis then levelled the fine, and gave the defendant until Nov. 26 to pay. Otherwise, Purvis said that Sinclair would spend five days in prison.
Man fined $400 for filing false statement
A $400 fine was levelled against Wayne Busby for filing a false statement with Athabasca RCMP.
On May 2, crown attorney Facundo said that Busby reported hissing a deer with his vehicle, but that police found no evidence that any animal was hit. Facundo further revealed that RCMP warned Busby against making a false statement, but the defendant insisted that it was a deer.
Upon further investigation, the prosecutor said that police found it was actually a guard rail that was hit, and that Busby was subsequently arrested. In pleading guilty to filing a false statement, the crown also dropped a charge of possession of a controlled substance that had also be levelled against the defendant.
After imposing the fine, which included surcharges, Judge Purvis then gave Busby until October 29 to make the payment.
