WESTLOCK – “These crimes are crimes of poverty,” defence lawyer Ashlee Kirby told Westlock Court of Justice when Mark Wesley Wildman was handed 180 days in jail on Nov. 27.
Wildman, 46, appeared in court by CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre for his sentencing hearing after the collapse of Conditional Sentence Order (CSO). He was on an 18-month CSO for breaking into a daycare earlier this year and stealing items.
On March 3, RCMP had responded to the daycare following an alarm. They found Wildman hiding in a closet, court heard. When they searched him police found methamphetamine, morphine, $2,500 cash and new cell phones.
He was also convicted of breaking into the Westlock Legion to steal food and broke into the R. F. Staples School.
Wildman pleaded guilty to breaching his CSO. Court heard that he wasn’t at his home on Oct. 17 and Oct. 20 when RCMP went. He also breached his curfew in August.
Kirby told the court that Wildman has substance abuse and mental health issues. In addition, he struggles to read and write and has physical mobility issues. He doesn’t have an income and had carried around AISH papers for a year because he couldn’t complete the documents himself.
Justice Gordon Putnam, when sentencing Wildman, said he was concerned that he isn’t getting the help he needs and hasn’t been able to access support to try and get onto AISH.
“I would submit these are crimes of poverty,” said Putnam.
