The B.C. Appeals Court has upheld a Prince George provincial court judge's sentencing of a local man to a one year of house arrest, dismissing defence counsel's argument that he should have been given only one day in jail because of the amount of time already spent in custody.
Judge Michael Brecknell sentenced Delbert Wayne Joseph, 42, to the term on Jan. 24 for shoplifting from a liquor store. The sentence was issued 141 days after Joseph had been arrested and 98 days after he pleaded guilty.
Brecknell credited Joseph with 190 days time served, giving him one-to-one credit for time in custody up to the day he pleaded guilty and 1.5-to-one credit for time served after that due to a delays associated with preparing a pre-sentencing report.
The time was taken off the one year conditional sentence - essentially a jail term served at home with conditions - and Joseph was also assessed two years probation once the sentence was completed.
Joseph's counsel argued he should receive just one day in jail and 1.5-to-one credit for the entire time he had spent in custody while the Crown prosecutor called for a year in jail followed by three years probation.
In speaking to the court prior to sentencing, Joseph had emphasized the problems caused by persistent double-bunking at the remand centre, sometimes with prisoners in custody on serious charges, and the difficulties he has faced due to his alcoholism.
Brecknell dismissed defence counsel's position outright and as for Crown's submission, he noted that despite Joseph's long criminal record, he had take some limited steps to address his alcohol abuse since his last conditional sentence in 2009. Joseph breached that sentence within one month and so, served the remaining two months in jail.
As a result, Brecknell reasoned that Joseph should be given a chance to show "dedication to his rehabilitative progress," and sentenced Joseph to one year house arrest with strict conditions. The terms were not outlined in the appeal court ruling but conditions typically include a curfew and prohibitions against consuming alcohol and entering liquor stores and licenced premises.
In the appeal, Joseph's defence counsel argued Brecknell failed to recognize that a conditional sentence is primarily punitive as opposed to a rehabilitative tool. But the three-justice appeals court disagreed, finding it can be used to address both objectives, and also finding Brecknell properly took all the relevant factors into consideration.
Joseph is back in custody and is scheduled for a disposition hearing on Tuesday at the Prince George courthouse on charges of drunk driving and three counts of breach of a conditional sentence.
