A 35-year-old man was sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to being in possession of forged documents following a break and enter at a Bonnyville residence.
Bonnyville RCMP arrested Zachary Jonathon Wierzba on Dec. 14 after receiving a 911 call regarding a break and enter. The investigation led officers to a different address within the town where Wierzba and a 19-year-old male were arrested for a break and enter causing mischief.
A search revealed Wierzba to be in possession of a forged cheque in the amount of $1,150.98 payable to himself, signed by him, with the intent it be acted upon as genuine. He appeared in court charged with two counts of forgery.
“You can appreciate that I don't have a lot of faith that you will follow court orders,” said Judge Kathleen Williams, noting that Wierzba's record indicated nine out of 11 charges between 2002 and 2014 relate to him not following court orders.
In its submission, Crown told the court that Wierzba had a prior conviction for theft under $5,000 dating from June 10, 2015.
The court heard that Wierzba has five children that are in foster care and he has visits with them every Friday. He is currently making efforts to regain custody of his youngest child, a 7-month-old son. Defence stated that was the main reason he was trying to deal with the matter on his first appearance in court.
Defence added that, although Wierzba does have prior property related offences, he doesn't have any previous convictions for fraud.
In his statement, Wierzba began by denying that he had anything to do with the cheques. Williams interjected by telling him that she wouldn't be able to proceed with a sentence if he contests the Crown and RCMP's submissions. Wierzba ultimately decided to stick to his guilty plea, telling the court that he does not wish to have a trial for the matter.
“I'm trying to the best I can here,” Wierzba told Williams.
While handing down her verdict, Williams said that by entering a guilty plea at the first available opportunity, Wierzba was ready to face the consequences of his actions, and that she was prepared to give him a shot.
“I know that you're trying to be involved in your kids lives as much as you can, if you don't get a grip on your life, you're just going to be in jail.”
She sentenced Wierzba to 30 days in jail to be served intermittently, with an enhanced credit of three days reflected in the sentence.
Wierzba will serve his sentence in St. Paul and is required to keep the peace, attend court and maintain good behaviour while he is out in the community.
