WESTLOCK – A Dapp-area man caught breaching conditions of his release, then gave police a fake name and date of birth on arrest, received a 30-day jail sentence.
Appearing in Westlock Court of Justice May 3 via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, Michael Joseph Allan Christenson, 39, pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to comply with release-order conditions and a charge of obstructing a peace officer, while Crown prosecutor Chris Williams withdrew two additional failing to comply charges and single counts of possession of break-in instruments and possession of a controlled substance.
Justice Gerry Annetts, who waived the victim-fine surcharge, agreed to a joint-sentence submission from Williams and defence lawyer Christopher Chelala on a 30-day jail sentence, time deemed served by 20, credited at one-to-one-and-a-half, of the 42 days he’s been behind bars at the ERC. Items seized by police during the arrest, which included a saw, bolt cutters and a bottle of GHB, were forfeited to the Crown.
Chelala told court that Christenson, who has a Grade 9 education and suffers a variety of mental health issues including ADHD and schizophrenia, has been battling drug and alcohol addition “since he was 14 years old.” Christenson, who’s a father of two, is currently unemployed and lives on Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped benefits.
“He is in mental health court in Edmonton for other ongoing matters,” Chelala added.
The crime
Court heard that around 2:30 a.m., March 22, Christenson’s mother phoned police and told them he had left their home in the Dapp area on foot, which was a direct breach of his curfew included as part of his release-order conditions.
RCMP then called probation and learned that he hadn’t been granted permission to break his curfew and police eventually arrested him during a March 23 traffic stop. During that stop, Christenson gave police a fake name and date of birth, while a saw, multiple saw blades, bolt cutters and a bottle of GHB was found in his backpack.
Meanwhile the vehicle he was stopped in was being driven by someone who wasn’t the registered owner, which was another breach of his release conditions.
