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Property-related record means extra time in custody

The 32-year-old responsible for the theft of a vehicle from the Bonnyville Home Hardware parking lot faced his day in court. Billie Joe Morin is a member of the Ermineskin First Nation. On Tuesday, Aug.
Provincial Building
Understanding Canada’s criminal justice system can be complicated.

The 32-year-old responsible for the theft of a vehicle from the Bonnyville Home Hardware parking lot faced his day in court.

Billie Joe Morin is a member of the Ermineskin First Nation. On Tuesday, Aug. 7, he pled guilty via CCTV to theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, shoplifting, and failing to attend court.

A woman had returned from a brief smoke break at Home Hardware on Oct. 3, 2017 when she noticed her wallet was missing from her purse. She went to check her vehicle only to discover it too was gone.

Video surveillance showed a man stealing the black 2017 Ford Explorer.

A credit card stolen from the wallet was later used to purchase alcohol at a Bonnyville liquor store. Police obtained CCTV footage from the business, and identified Morin as the suspect.

Five days after the incident, Morin was identified as the suspect in the theft of $350 cash from a St. Paul business.

Morin, a father of two, was arrested on July 19, and has remained in custody since.

Morin's record revealed 30 prior property-related convictions, one of the reasons why Crown Prosecutor Terry Mazerolle was seeking a period of time in custody.

Honourable Judge Kathleen Williams said the charges in relation to property date back to his youth in 1999, and agreed with the crown's recommended sentence of 120 days in custody.

She described his sentencing as "in some ways on the light side."

As of Aug. 7, Morin had 90 days left to serve.

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