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BARRHEAD - A 38-year-old Barrhead man received more than two months in jail, but, due to the time he has already spent in custody, he effectively ended up with time served.
On Sept. 26 at Barrhead Court of Justice, Steven Curtis Payne pleaded guilty to two counts of mischief under $5,000 and a charge of failing to comply with release order conditions.
As part of the joint submission, Crown prosecutor Andrew Dirgo withdrew several other charges, including multiple failing to comply with release and undertaking conditions and one theft under $5,000 charge.
Justice Peter Ayotte handed down his sentence, agreeing with a joint submission for a 73-day sentence, 30 days for failing to comply with a release order and 20 days for each mischief under $5,000 charge. But after applying 1.5 enhanced credit to the 48 days Payne has spent in jail and another three days credited for his court appearances, they effectively cancelled each other out. He also waived the associated victim fine surcharges.
However, as Justice Ayotte denied his bail request, Payne must remain in custody while awaiting two separate trials, scheduled for Nov. 22 and Dec. 14, for incidents occurring earlier this spring and summer.
Facts of guilty pleas
On May 16, Dirgo said, in regards to a failure to comply with a release order conditions charge, that the owners of Barrhead Building Products reported to Barrhead RCMP that someone had broken into their outside yard a day earlier, providing video surveillance footage showing someone hanging outside the gate of their yard. The accused was identified as the person in the video.
"[At the time] he was bound by a curfew on one of his release documents specifying he was supposed to be at his approved residence between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.," Dirgo said, noting the time stamp on the video was 5:55 a.m.
Barrhead Building Products also provided a second video, showing Payne walking away with the chain used to lock the gate.
"The complainant advised it was an expensive cut-resistant chain," Dirgo said.
Crown's position on sentencing
Although Dirgo said the charges are not high on the severity scale, he noted Payne has an "extremely lengthy and related criminal record," including similar convictions, the most recent being in 2022, including mischief and numerous failing to comply charges that he received 30 days for, along with another 10 days for mischief in 2022.
"The Crown would suggest the sentences are an acceptable jump up given his lengthy criminal record and personal circumstances of the offender," he said.
Dirgo noted the first mischief charges related to a June 8 incident in which Barrhead RCMP responded to a report of "vandalism in progress".
When the police arrived, he said, they found a damaged vehicle on the corner of 52nd Avenue and 45th Street.
Dirgo said witnesses told police they saw a man "attend the vehicle several times" before striking it multiple times with a baseball bat.
"Witnesses said they then saw the suspect running with the baseball bat to (a nearby property)," he said.
Dirgo added that police visited the residence and found a suspect matching the witnesses' descriptions. Police also noted that Payne admitted to causing the damage.
The other mischief charge happened during a July 23, 2023, incident at the Westlock RCMP Detachment. At the time, Payne was at the detachment on an unrelated Barrhead matter.
"After [Payne] finished speaking to a lawyer in private, he notified the guard to return him to his cell. As the person walked away to get an RCMP member to escort him, they witnessed him flip the table over in a locked room and repeatedly smash a telephone on the ground, breaking it," Dirgo said.
Bail arguments
Dirgo noted that the Crown opposed bail.
He noted the charges Payne is awaiting trial for in December, which include multiple counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000 and possessing break-in instruments, are the result of a June 8, 2023 incident in which he was accused of damaging a County of Barrhead and stealing several sets of vehicle keys from a Barrhead business.
As part of their investigation, Dirgo said, police obtained a search warrant for Payne's residence and found five sets of vehicle keys, a Co-op gas card and several sets of insurance and registration documents belonging to stolen vehicles.
"Mr. Payne was subsequently released on June 13 on a $2,500 promise to pay, with a condition of his release being a curfew," Dirgo said, adding over a month later, on July 25, Payne was arrested and released on a $100 cash bond.
He added that the day after Payne was released, Barrhead RCMP members responded to a stolen vehicle complaint.
Using the OnStar GPS information, police were able to locate the vehicle at an area campground.
Through video surveillance footage, police learned that Payne had frequented the campground store, which Dirgo said was also collaborated by a store employee who said they had seen him exit the vehicle to come in the store.
"[The witness] assumed he was sleeping in the vehicle as it had not moved since they had arrived," he said, noting the RCMP then sent a member to Payne's home for a curfew check and found he wasn't there.
Dirgo reiterated the Crown's opposition to bail, noting his lengthy criminal record for property offences, with numerous failures to comply, breaches, and flights from police officers.
"All of which suggests that Mr. Payne is not capable of following any court direction given to him," he said.
Payne's lawyer, Douglas Holman, said his client was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
He also argued that there is no evidence that his client stole or drove the previously mentioned stolen vehicle, "just that a witness had seen sleeping in it."
Similarly, Holman noted that police had not established that the stolen items that they found at his client's home were because Payne had taken them, saying they could have been placed there by another individual.
He added said Payne has a six-year-old daughter and has had ongoing struggles with a meth addiction, and has attended multiple programs to help him overcome his dependency.
"He knows what he needs to do and is very motivated," Holman said, asking for a high "no-cash" bail with several conditions attached to Payne's release.
Ayotte said while the presumption of innocence was the cornerstone of the court system, in a bail hearing, the onus is on the accused.
"Hearing the courts have to be concerned about whether Mr. Payne, if released, would appear as required, or if he will comply with his release conditions and not commit any other offences," he said. "as the Crown pointed out, he was released on cash bail and the next day was involved in other offences. I am satisfied that he has not met that onus and, therefore, am denying bail."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
