Hello,

My friend has recently attended trial for several charges stemming from an incident that happened two years ago. I live in Newfoundland, Canada. The trial was delayed for about two years, and during the delay for the most part my friend has been able to stay out of trouble, except one incident for stealing alcohol. He has plead guilty to three charges and the incident in question is:
-Theft over $5,000
-Breaking and entering with intent to commit indictable offense
-possession of stolen goods.

I am just curious to know if my friend could be looking at serious jail time, or if he will most likely be given a slap on the wrist? Like I said he was given about a two year delay because his lawyer wanted to prove he was a respectable individual and the crime committed was a momentary lapse of judgement. Like I said though during the delay he did get charged with a minor theft(stolen beer), so I'm not sure if that proved his character to be that of upstanding.

My friend is in his early 20's, has a steady job( he has had the job since the age of 15), and will be returning to school within the next couple of months. He has had a few minor run ins with the law through out his life. A DUI, domestic disturbance and also the minor theft I mentioned( I am not sure how extensive his criminal history actually is, but these are the only incidents I know of).

The incident in question is not a minor theft. $70,000 dollars worth of equipment was stolen, $55,000 was recovered, but $15,000 was not recovered. He has plead guilty to the crime and his first trial to determine sentencing was a few days ago, but the judge wanted another week to consider final course of actions. The crown prosecution is asking for between 1-8 years. My friend is hoping for house arrest, or weekends in jail, but under the circumstances how likely is it that he will feel the long arm of the justice system?

Thank you in advance.

Extremely unlikely to get a slap on the wrist. These are serious crimes in their own rite... added together. With his previous history... I doubt they would go easy on him.

Personally these warrant Jail time... not house arrest or even weekends in jail. I believe his lawyer would have told him the same.

Think about it...if it was YOUR place that was broken and entered and your stuff stolen...after incurring the loss, the expense and the mental anguish of being their victim...you certainly wouldn't want them to get a slap on the wrist.

And a momentary lapse of judgement doesn't result in a number of serious crimes. They knew what they were doing...Before, during and after. Remorse only occurred because they got caught.

Thank you for your opinion. To be clear I am in no way condoning a crime. I am just stating his lawyers defense, that is a momentary lapse of judgement, that the crime was committed as a result of alcohol consumption. He has already plead guilty to the crime and he is not asking for a slap on the wrist, and I do not think he should get a slap on the wrist. You have to remember that I am the one asking the question not my friend. He is ready to accept the judgement; however, I'm just interested to know if there is any chance of him getting a lesser sentence than 1-8 years. His lawyer thinks there is a possibility of weekends, or house arrest, because he presented similar cases to the court that resulted in lesser charges. The crown presented extreme cases, like for example, there was one case of a man who committed 9 break and enters and was given 5 years. Personally I hope my friend gets the sentence that he deserves. I look forward to his feeling the full extent of justice, but I am just curious. Thanks again for your answer.

I would agree, no slap on the wrist,

The real difference if she was good (and he was not) would be from a long prison time to just perhaps a few years.

Consider a few years in prions the slap on the wrist.

His stealing the alcohol, and being caught, can lead the judge to believe he most likely was stealing other things also, and just got caught that one time.

Sorry, Had he not gotten into any trouble, my guess would be a few years only. But my guess now, would be a longer time,

There is no way for us to predict what a court will do. But the fact that he has pled guilty will probably work in his favor. I seriously doubt house arrest or weekends. But I would suspect a minimal sentence 1-2 years with parole available after 6 months.