Share this Story: Sarnia man's sentence shortened because of COVID-19 jail cell isolation
Sarnia man's sentence shortened because of COVID-19 jail cell isolation
Sarnia Jail. Photo by file photo //The Observer
A London lawyer argued his client should get extra credit for the two weeks he spent in isolation at the Sarnia jail due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The judge agreed, but in a roundabout way.
Sarnia man's sentence shortened because of COVID-19 jail cell isolation Back to video
While people convicted of criminal charges are usually credited 1.5 days for every day spent in pre-sentence custody towards their final sentence, defence lawyer Nick Cake said Michael Simmons, 50, should get even more time taken off for the long days he spent isolated behind bars in the border city.
"He's essentially in his cell 22 hours of the day," Cake said to Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski via teleconference.
Simmons – released on bail in Milton on separate drug charges on April 16 – was immediately arrested and taken to the Sarnia jail, which cued his two-week quarantine. Cake argued he should get two days of credit for each of the 13 days in jail to that point.
Overall, Simmons spent 60 days behind bars, which would normally be bumped up to 90. Cake asked for 95 instead.
Assistant Crown attorney David Nicol disagreed, referencing a decision two weeks earlier by Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance in Windsor.
"The justice in that case did not suggest any additional credit for pre-sentence custody during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nicol said.
Leszczynski said she took the additional anxiety and restrictions of being in jail during a pandemic into account as she creatively crafted the sentence.
"I am going to heed the recommendation by Mr. Cake that your (client's) sentence ought to be reduced as a result. However, I'm not going to specifically indicate that the credit be given for that time," she said.
Both lawyers suggested a 14-month jail sentence for Simmons, who pleaded guilty to breaking into an elderly Sarnia man's home, stealing several items and briefly escaping from police. Leszczynski only gave him the usual rate by bumping 60 days up to 90, but then ordered he only had to serve 325 more days.
Without that extra order, he would have had 330 days left.
"Mr. Cake, that essentially gives you the credit that you were seeking, but just in a different way," she said.
The court heard several witnesses saw Simmons leave an 80-year-old man's home on Aug. 17, 2019, on a bicycle with several full bags. After a brief chase near the Colborne Road fire station – the canine unit was brought in – Simmons was arrested. Police found tools on him such as a hatchet, a small pry bar and pliers.
In the bags, police found a passport, a driver's licence, paperwork and documents in the victim's name, along with a stereo, watch, necklaces, rings, and stamp and coin collections. Some of the stolen goods were stuffed in pillow cases taken from the victim's bed.
"You broke into someone's home and, in this case, an elderly man who lives alone," Leszczynski said. "Mr. Simmons, I hope you can appreciate how that impacts one's sense of security."
The judge added his "very lengthy" criminal record with many convictions for property-related offences – including five prior break-and-enters – was aggravating.
Cake said it was a crime of opportunity for his client, a lifelong drug addict.