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BARRHEAD - A Barrhead man was sentenced recently to seven months in jail and 18 months of probation for his part in two separate copper thefts and the attempted theft of a vehicle from a Barrhead business' parking lot.
In Barrhead Court of Justice July 25, Christopher Michael Blackburn pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled drug or substance (methamphetamine), resisting a peace officer, theft of a motor vehicle and breaking and entering with the intention to commit theft.
He had also previously pleaded guilty to a charge of shop breaking with intent to commit an indictable offence on Nov. 9, 2022. Approximately 21 other charges were withdrawn.
Justice Joanne Heudes sentenced Blackburn to 150 days, plus 18 months of probation on the shop breaking charge, 150 days to be served concurrently on the breaking and entering charge, 30 days to be served consecutively on the theft of a motor vehicle charge, a $1,000 fine on the possession charge and another 30 days on the resisting a peace officer charge.
That added up to a total of 210 days in jail. However, because Blackburn had been in custody for 131 days, he was credited with 197 days behind bars on an enhanced credit basis, leaving him only 13 to serve.
The terms of Blackburn's probation were not fully read out in court, though comments from the Crown and defence suggested that they mostly had to do with seeking treatment for undiagnosed mental health issues and substance abuse, as well as to avoid the locations and individuals he had committed crimes against.
Blackburn's sentence was in line with the recommendation from defence lawyer Gary Smith, who suggested a shorter jail time and a longer period of probation than what was sought by the Crown "in order for him to get the counselling and treatment he needs."
Justice Heudes agreed with the defence's submission, noting that Blackburn was asking for help and needing help in order to change his path in life.
"I would like to accommodate that if I can," she added.
The facts
Reading the facts in chronological order, Crown prosecutor Anthony Estephan said that on Nov. 22, 2021, at approximately 2:10 a.m., Westlock RCMP received a text from a monitoring phone held by Telus Communications to help prevent copper wire theft.
This phone, Estephan noted, only sounds when an alarm has been tripped at the Telus phone tower just southwest of Westlock.
Members attended the scene and found footprints in the snow leading down the driveway to the phone tower. A man later identified as Blackburn was seen exiting the door to the maintenance building at the phone tower.
Estephan said a member yelled at Blackburn and announced he was under arrest. Blackburn began running away from police through a field, dropping a backpack as he fled.
He tried to turn a corner on a tree line and hide in the snow, though officers caught up to him and placed him under arrest. Incidentally, another man was found inside the maintenance building.
Both men were searched at the police vehicle, along with their backpacks. Inside, police found numerous break-in tools, a can of bear spray, lots of bags of screws and zip ties, and an item from inside the building.
Then, on Feb. 14, 2022, an officer responded to a break-and-enter at a Telus Communications compound — Estephan did not specify if this was the same building in Westlock County or another location.
A truck was broken into on the scene, and the officer located blood droplets inside it. These droplets were sent off for forensic analysis while RCMP reviewed surveillance footage from the compound and determined one of the three men breaking into the property may have been Blackburn.
On May 29, 2022, Estephan said the same officer observed Blackburn walking along in the Town of Barrhead. He stopped Blackburn and asked him to provide a DNA sample, which Blackburn voluntarily consented to.
That sample was in turn matched to the blood droplets that were inside the truck, Estephan indicated.
After being arrested, Blackburn provided a warrant caution statement where he admitted to breaking into the truck to retrieve tools that would assist in stealing copper wire.
Next, on Jan. 6, 2023, Barrhead RCMP received a call about an attempted vehicle theft at a fast food restaurant in Barrhead.
The victim reported sitting in a friend's vehicle eating food while her car was parked nearby with the engine running and keys in the ignition.
The victim witnessed a man enter her vehicle and attempt to leave the parking lot. She then exited her friend's vehicle and was struck in the chest while the suspect was backing up.
Despite this minor injury, the victim opened the door and pulled the man out of the driver's seat. Estephan said the man started to run eastbound on 50th Avenue, and another witness at the scene recognized him as Blackburn.
While the victim was treated for some bruising and shoulder pain, police attended Blackburn's residence and arrested him. While providing a warrant caution statement, Blackburn said he had seen the vehicle of another person at the A&W who had beaten him up in the past.
Fearful of another beating, Blackburn said he tried to steal the other vehicle and make a run for it. He did not remember backing up into the victim.
Finally, on March 16, 2023, Estephan said a Barrhead RCMP officer observed a vehicle driving on 50th Avenue heading east. The vehicle, which was being driven by Blackburn, was pursued, and it crossed 53rd Avenue going probably 70 to 80 kilometres per hour, he said.
Eventually, Blackburn was stopped and arrested, but he resisted due to being under the influence of drugs at the time. Estephan noted he was "very emotional" and kept saying the same things repeatedly.
Police found approximately 20 grams of methamphetamine on Blackburn. Later, he admitted that he had ran into some trees and was fleeing the scene.
Estephan noted that Blackburn had a two-page criminal record with entries dating between June 2019 and July 2022.
The Crown's recommendation was for a global sentence of 240 days plus 12 months of probation and a $1,000 fine, along with a DNA order and the forfeiture of all offence-related exhibits except any items that could be returned to Telus.
After presenting the justice with a pre-sentencing report, Estephan said the offences committed by Blackburn were fairly serious, particularly the theft of the motor vehicle, though his moral culpability varied due to being under the influence of methamphetamines on some occasions.
In terms of mitigation, Estephan noted that Blackburn's plea saved the court substantial time, including one trial date that would have required expert testimony about the DNA evidence that served as the basis of the Crown's case. The victim in the theft case also expressed relief at not having to testify in court, he said.
He added that Blackburn had also been mostly co-operative with the police, and it was his co-operation in one instance that made prosecution possible.
As well, Estephan said the fact that Blackburn wished to deal with his addiction issues was also important here, and while the jail sentence and fine served the principles of denunciation and deterrence, the lengthy probation informed the rehabilitative portion of the sentence.
Smith noted that his client, who is 28 years old, had a turbulent childhood, and his parents divorced early on. However, he is still in contact with his mother and will be staying with her outside of Barrhead upon release.
"You'll note from the (pre-sentencing) report that she still supports him and knows that it will be an ongoing journey to deal with his addictions," Smith said.
In addition to addressing his addiction issues, Blackburn's probation was aimed at getting him help with an undiagnosed mental health concern, as Smith noted his client suffers from anxiety and depression but has never been formally diagnosed.
"This is a very young person who still has hopes of turning himself around and getting the help that he needs," Smith said.
