It was a Sunday afternoon and a 10-year-old girl was shopping at Walmart with her dad.

A man had snuck up behind her and was taking a picture. He was holding his cellphone under her pink skirt.

Michael Thomas Guerard, 25, was convicted Wednesday of voyeurism for the Aug. 31 incident. He was sentenced to three months in jail followed by two years’ probation. He must take counselling, he can have no contact with anyone under the age of 16 and he can’t possess any cellphone capable of taking photos or videos.

On his cellphone, Guerard had a collection of similar photos and videos as well as images of girls and women in yoga pants.

Guerard was caught thanks to the girl’s dad who noticed the strange man near his daughter. Guerard tried to bolt, but the father gave chase, catching him outside the Tecumseh Road East store.

The store’s security guard noticed an altercation, but had no idea what it was about. He broke up what he thought was a fight. Guerard fled again.

After a quick explanation by the father, the security guard and father both started looking for Guerard. They spotted him crouched down on ground, smashing his cellphone on the pavement.

The two men chased Guerard across Tecumseh Road to the parking lot of Dollar Tree where they held him until police arrived. They collected the shattered remains of the cellphone which was later analyzed by police.

Court heard Guerard had “indiscriminate” taste when it came to upskirt photos — any female of any age would suffice.

Ontario court Justice Gregory Campbell called Guerard’s conduct “distasteful, intolerable” and “potentially dangerous.” Campbell said if Guerard had been uploading any photos from his collection, he’d be further victimizing his subjects.

Guerard narrowly avoided being placed on the national sex offender registry. Assistant Crown attorney Russ Cornett had asked that Guerard be placed on the registry for 10 years. But when pressed by the judge, Cornett declined to try to prove the photos Guerard had taken of the 10-year-old girl had been taken for any other criminal purpose but to feed his own perversion.

Guerard has no prior criminal record. Defence lawyer Kevin Shannon said, until his arrest, Guerard had a steady girlfriend with whom he has a one-year-old child. He lives with his father in Colchester and worked at a bottling plant, riding his bike four miles each way to work.

“He is ashamed to be here,” Shannon said.

With his mother crying in the body of the court behind him, Guerard addressed the judge. “I just want to say I’m sorry. I want the victims to know I’m sorry. It will never happen again on my account.”

Guerard hopes to pursue a career in automotive robotics. The judge ordered that, during his probation, Guerard can’t use a computer other than for work. “No surfing the web,” Campbell said.

Guerard was fined $150 which will go into a fund to compensate victims of crime.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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A fraudster was sentenced this week to two years’ probation and fined $4,000 for assuming other people’s identities and signing cellphones contracts and credit cards in their names.

But Ahmad Aref Sannan, 49, walked away from 75 other charges he was facing, most related to a vast collection of bogus international passports, Canadian immigration documents, driver’s licences and SIN cards police found in his Kenilworth Drive home.

Sannan entered guilty pleas to three fraud charges. The pleas came a week into what was to be a three-week trial in Superior Court.

Sannan was arrested in October 2010 after he was implicated in a scheme where fraudsters were buying cell phone contracts at Future Shop using stolen identities. Two Future Shop employees filled out the contracts using information Sannan provided.

The cellphones, often free or sold for a nominal charge with long-term contracts, were then resold online or overseas.

“Sannan was painted as the mastermind of the scheme,” defence lawyer Frank Miller said Wednesday. But Sannan’s accomplices – Farshad Masheli and Adel Abdulkader – did that to minimize their own role in the fraud and secure lenient sentences of house arrest, Miller said. “They had painted a picture of Sannan as this great Svengali character, which wasn’t true.”

Of dozens of bogus contracts filled out by the two men, security camera footage showed Sannan leaving Future Shop with only seven cellphones obtained fraudulently.

Police raided Sannan’s home and found a room full of fake ID — Lebanese and Moroccan passports, Canadian citizenship documents, U.S. immigration cards, social insurance number cards, Ontario photo health cards and credit cards under dozens of names. Also found was a Transport Canada Registrar of Imported Vehicles stamp. All the charges related to those documents were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.

But police also found documents related to the cellphone fraud, and credit card applications Sannan had taken out using stolen SINs.

As part of his sentence, Sannan must pay back the National Bank of Canada and the CIBC $10,000 each for debt they had written off.

He must also make restitution to Future Shop in the amount of $3,285.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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A Windsor man with an “unenviable” criminal record pleaded guilty Friday to stabbing a person who then allegedly hijacked a van full of people to get to the hospital.

Dalvin Wesley Kersey, 20, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to another 74 days in jail, after receiving extra credit for his time in pre-trial custody.

In his sentencing, Superior Court Justice Scott Campbell agreed to a joint submission from defence and prosecution lawyers suggesting 12 months. But Campbell also gave Kersey a stern warning.

“Quite bluntly stated Mr. Kersey, if you continue at this pace you’re going to spend a lot of time in a custodial setting,” he said.

Court heard that Kersey was at home around 1:20 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2014 when three men, including Ronald Contraras, came to the door. The men were there to retrieve clothing for a woman who recently moved out.

Kersey confronted one of the men with Contraras. A fight broke out and the man fell to the ground. Contraras and the third man then walked away.

Kersey went into the house, grabbed a knife and chased after them. He started swinging the knife at Contraras, who put up his arms in self-defense. Kersey gave him a nasty cut on the arm, which caused a significant amount of blood loss.

Court heard that Contraras then hijacked a vehicle with an “innocent family” who had stopped to help him. He took the vehicle – and a couple of the family members – to the hospital where he underwent surgery.

Contraras’ charges for taking the van are still before the courts. But Windsor police said last year that Contraras flagged down a Chevrolet Venture. The van stopped and the people riding in the front seats got out to help him. Contraras then allegedly jumped in the driver’s seat and drove off with two people still in the van.

Police said one of the citizens who got out to help Contraras was struck by the van as it took off. Contraras also allegedly struck another vehicle on the way to the hospital.

Campbell told Kersey Friday that his actions set those events in motion.

“The ripple of your conduct is quite serious,” he said.

Despite that, Campbell agreed to the 12-month sentence, giving Kersey 1.5 credit for his 194 days in pre-trial custody. He said Kersey’s guilty plea was a mitigating factor, as was his youth.

He urged Kersey to straighten out, reminding him that he has two sons including a three-year-old and an infant who is just a few months old. Kersey hasn’t really seen his youngest son because he’s been in custody.

Campbell added that while Kersey’s youth is now a mitigating factor, it won’t be long before that advantage disappears, especially given his growing criminal record.

“He has an unenviable criminal record given his youth,” said Campbell.

twilhelm@windsorstar.com

A recent court ruling has granted protection to the Mady Development Corporation – which has a history in Windsor dating back 40 years – as it struggles financially to complete a $100-million mixed-use downtown development in Barrie.

Construction on the Collier Centre — which features a condominium tower, restaurants, office space and several major retail outlets across from city hall – was halted after what company CEO Chuck Mady recently told The Star were financial difficulties triggered by last winter’s bad weather and higher than expected costs with sub-contractors.

Reports in the Barrie area indicated more than $11 million in liens have been filed against the Mady company by various suppliers and sub-contractors.

Ontario’s Superior Court has granted Mady protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act – legislation that provides time for companies to restructure their finances and hopefully avoid bankruptcy.

Mady did not respond to a message left at his office Monday which was the Family Day holiday.

He recently told The Star: “We have had some issues with workers’ cost and scheduling issues. Our costs have increased and when that happens you have to go back to the bank and they are not as quick as you might like.”

• Windsor-based developer Mady struggling financially
• 300 Ouellette Ave. sold by Mady Development to Toronto firm

The Barrie project includes 82 condo units which Mady indicated were sold out. Residents were scheduled to take occupancy in November, but are now being told a more likely time frame will be late this year or early 2016.

Among other tenants which signed deals to occupy the Collier Centre are BMO bank, Sobey’s grocery store, a coffee shop, plus a steakhouse and wine bar.

Only the bank has been able to open.

The city sold Mady the downtown property for $4 million with an expectation the development would become a downtown showpiece.

“This development is important to the City of Barrie, its businesses and its residents,” said Mady in a statement to The Barrie Examiner. “We view seeking court protection as allowing us some breathing room to complete the project in an orderly fashion.”

According to the newspaper, Grant Thornton Ltd. in Toronto has been appointed to assist Mady in developing a refinancing plan.

Jonathan Krieger of Grant Thornton, who has been assigned to the file, did not return a message on Monday, but indicated to The Examiner “operations of the company will be limited until such time as we assess and develop a full project re-commencement plan.”

Sobey’s was initially scheduled to be in its store in November, but agreed to an extension and pushed its occupancy date back to the start of February, according to the website simcoe.com. Mady is now subject to lease penalties for being late.

The website reported the project’s 82 condo units do not yet have windows or electrical services. The office tower has a roof with its metal and concrete works completed. Plumbing is complete up to the fifth floor and half the windows are installed. The heating and air conditioning system is less than half complete.

At the end of December the Mady company  sold off one of its primary holdings in Windsor — the former Palace theatre building which has become home to The Windsor Star. The family held ownership of the building for more than 30 years.

Mady’s company has no construction in progress or projects planned locally. Its recent developments in Windsor include Southwood Lakes, Glengarda condominiums and Amica retirement residences on the riverfront in the city’s east end.

The company has another dozen projects “in various stages” of planning or construction throughout the GTA, Mady said.

dbattagello@windsorstar.com

twitter.com/davebattagello

Jeff Durham was supposed to be holding his newborn baby girl in his arms this week. She was to be named Molly. Her room at home is already painted pink.

Although Durham and his ex-girlfriend had their differences, they were working on being friends. They may have been separated, but both were eager to be good parents to Molly, Durham explained in an online interview with The Star.

But those plans disappeared when Windsor firefighters discovered Cassandra Kaake dead inside her burning home on Dec. 11. Her slain body was left to burn in a blaze believed to be set by her killer, according yo police, who arrested and charged Matthew Brush with murder in connection to the heinous crime.

But one murder charge is not enough, says Durham, the latest advocate pushing to make killing unborn children a criminal offence in Canada. Durham posted a heart-wrenching plea to his Facebook page on Valentine’s Day, asking the federal government to consider changing Canada’s Criminal Code.

“I will speak for my daughter because that’s what parents do. It’s all I have left,” he said during his interview. “I want the person responsible for this to be held accountable and to suffer for it. Cassie would want it, too.”

His letter, addressed to Essex Conservative MP Jeff Watson, explains the outrage in the Windsor region that has followed the killing of Kaake, who was seven months pregnant when she died in what seasoned investigators describe as one of the most gruesome crime scenes they’ve ever seen.

Durham calls for the introduction of unborn victims of crime legislation that would protect fetuses. Specifically, he supports the resurrection of a private member’s bill that was introduced in 2008, but only made it as far as second reading before being dropped.

The bill would have made it a criminal offence to cause harm to an unborn child during an attack on the mother. Durham and thousands of others want to see a similar bill re-introduced.

“My nightmare has revealed a flaw in our country’s law,” he wrote in the letter. “I look to my elected officials for guidance and support in correcting this flaw.”

He is one of 5,755 people to sign an online petition launched by Windsor’s Kim Badour. She, too, started a campaign to change the country’s laws after the Kaake murder.

Durham left another of his pleading messages on the petition called Molly Matters: Reconsider and Pass Bill C-484. He wants to garner enough public support to provide “justice” for his daughter.

“Now I won’t get to meet her, hold her and tell her I love her,” he wrote. “Cassie won’t get to be the wonderful mother everyone knew she was so ready and eager to be.”

Watson said he would support a new proposal similar to the private members bill he voted for back in 2007. Considering the public discussion
around the issue, given the Kaake murder, he plans to release a public response to Durham’s letter in the coming days.

“I supported the previous bill because I feel there is an important gap in the Criminal Code which fails to recognize a second crime when it is
reasonably known that someone is pregnant,” he said.

Durham also reached out to Windsor West MP Brian Masse, who has committed to helping file documentation for the online petition, but doesn’t support the proposed Criminal Code changes.

He would go as far as supporting stiffer penalties for crimes against pregnant women, but stops well short of creating specific crimes against unborn children, he told The Star last week.

His comments were echoed University of Windsor law professor David Tanovich, who says Canada must address the underlying issue of violence against women instead of trying to create new laws.

“When a pregnant woman is killed, it is almost always by her current or former intimate partner,” he said. “It is a domestic violence issue. We need more resources for shelters and counsellors and better training for lawyers and police to better understand the nature of and consequences of violence against women and, in particular, domestic violence.”

Discussions about unborn child protection laws can be difficult, often leading to politically charged talks because of implications for abortion and women’s rights issues.

Durham addresses these concerns in his letter, saying he does not support the arguments that protecting a fetus interferes with abortion and women’s rights issues.

“It is just wrong to not consider a child at that state of development a person.” he wrote in his letter. “It is wrong that this aspect of the crime perpetrated will go unacknowledged by those which we put in charge to judge such things.”

–With files from Trevor Wilhelm

• Cops release name of victim in Benjamin Avenue homicide
• Benjamin Avenue murder case adds fuel to debate on fetal homicide laws
• Windsor police turn to ‘blooding’ in search of a killer
• Citizens help Windsor police take down man who allegedly murdered pregnant woman
• Brutal murder of pregnant woman prompts calls for changes to the law

dspalding@windsorstar.com

twitter/Derek_Spalding

The testimony that has been heard in court so far in the sexual assault case against former Windsor Spitfire Ben Johnson is admissible, a judge says.

Justice Micheline Rawlins ruled on Tuesday that the account of a woman who was not the main complainant can be entered as “similar fact evidence” — that is, evidence of other bad acts where the probative value to the trial outweighs the potential for prejudice.

Johnson, a 20-year-old professional hockey player, is accused of forcing a woman to touch his penis in a toilet stall at a university-area bar. He faces one count of sexual assault.

The incident allegedly took place two years ago on Jan. 13, 2013 at the Krooked Kilt pub on Wyandotte Street West. The complainant was using the men’s washroom.

According to the complainant, Johnson barged into the stall and lowered his pants, then grabbed her right hand and pulled it toward his genitals.

The court has heard from other females who were at the pub on the night in question. One young woman testified that she was also confronted by Johnson in the washroom and that he asked her to give him oral sex or lift her top.

Johnson’s lawyer objected to the inclusion of the woman’s testimony.

The trial was adjourned to determine the admissibility of the testimony.

With Tuesday’s finding, the trial is set to resume in June.

Johnson is also facing a separate charge of sexual assault in relation to an incident that allegedly took place March 2013 at a downtown nightclub. That case has yet to go to trial.

Johnson played for the Spitfires from 2011 to 2014. He signed a three-year contract with the New Jersey Devils last spring.

• Ben Johnson sex assault trial to stretch into June 2015
• Windsor Spitfire Ben Johnson trapped woman in washroom stall, sex assault trial hears
• Judge to rule on gag order in Ben Johnson sex assault trial
• Lifting of publication ban sought in Ben Johnson sex assault trial
• Spitfire Ben Johnson stands trial for alleged sexual assault

An elementary teacher arrested 2½ years ago for taking breaks from his students by snorting cocaine might finally have his teaching licence revoked.

Sean Lee Gibson, a former Grade 4 teacher at St. Gabriel Catholic school, will have a disciplinary hearing before the Ontario College of Teachers next month. The college is alleging professional misconduct and incompetence.

Gibson was arrested in October 2012, after police were tipped off about his cocaine habit. Officers watched Gibson make frequent trips during the day to a particular, single washroom within the school. On two days, police cleaned the washroom before Gibson entered several times, and swabbed surfaces after he left. They found cocaine residue on the countertop.

Police followed him home at lunchtime and arrested him as he exited his apartment. In his pocket was a plastic baggie containing 0.1 grams of cocaine.

Gibson was on probation at the time for making threats to his ex-spouse.

The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board fired Gibson a month later. He had been a teacher with the board for 10 years.

Gibson was convicted in November 2013 of drug possession and sentenced to 45 days on house arrest.

If Gibson is found guilty of professional misconduct or found to be incompetent, the college could revoke his teaching certificate. Gibson’s certificate has been suspended for non-payment of fees.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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The young man accused of beating a dog to death in Memorial Park made his first appearance in provincial court Thursday.

Donovan Patrick, 20, who is charged with injuring and killing an animal, stood silently in the prisoner box Thursday afternoon as friends and family looked on. He is scheduled to return Friday morning.

The tall and lanky Windsor man was arrested by police in the popular South Walkerville park early Wednesday morning after a pedestrian walking along one of the trails reported seeing a man repeatedly beating a dog. When police officers arrived around 7:30 a.m. they found the man sitting on a tan, brown and white shepherd-husky mix.

The dog, which suffered several cuts and lacerations to its neck and chest, was brought to a nearby animal hospital, but died from its injuries after a 45-minute effort to save its life.

Anyone convicted of unlawfully injuring and killing a dog can face a fine of up $10,000 and as much as 18 months in jail.

Windsor police Sgt. Matthew D’Asti said Patrick had no prior contacts with police and was not known to authorities. His lawyer asked for a publication ban on evidence heard in court. The Crown agreed.

dspalding@windsorstar.com

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Keimonty Grayer is a thief who breaks into homes while people are sleeping.

On Sept. 10, she upped her game, robbing a woman at a bank machine. The fact the gun she used was fake and Grayer got no cash makes no difference under the law; Grayer is facing a minimum of four years behind bars.

Grayer, 28, pleaded guilty Monday to 11 crimes, most committed during a five-month period last year. The Crown is seeking a total sentence of six years, minus time served.

Windsor police are on the hunt for a pistol-packing woman, Keimonty Grayer, 28. who unsuccessfully tried to rob a woman outside of an ATM. (Courtesy of The Windsor Police)

“This was very much a crime spree,” assistant Crown attorney Tim Kavanagh told the judge who will sentence Grayer later this week. Ontario court Justice Sharman Bondy noted Grayer has been handed light sentences for past crimes and is getting more brazen.

In May, Grayer was caught on video surveillance using a Sears credit card stolen from a home on Devonshire Road. Within a couple hours, she rang up $3,200 in purchases.

In June, Grayer was cashing cheques stolen from a woman’s car. When Grayer was arrested, police found one of the victim’s uncashed cheques and other pieces of mail in Grayer’s backpack.

In August, a man awoke to find Grayer standing in the bedroom of his Ouellette Avenue apartment. He later discovered his wallet and cellphone missing.

That same month, Grayer was caught in a student housing building on Peter Street trying to open a drawer that contained petty cash. When arrested, Grayer was carrying a white plastic bag containing documents from a home on Peter Street that had been burglarized earlier. Stolen were two laptop computers and two sets of headphones.

A few days later Grayer was caught in the staff office of the Hampton Inn on Huron Church Road. A review of the security video showed Grayer had removed a projector and hid it elsewhere in the hotel.

Two days after that, Grayer was caught using a credit card stolen that same morning. A woman awoke on Arthur Road to find her purse missing. When she called to cancel her Visa card, she learned it had been used at an Esso station and at a Tim Hortons. Surveillance from the gas station showed Grayer using the card,

The next day, Grayer was seen on home security video breaking into a home on Labadie Road at night. She stole a Coach purse, sweatshirt and shoes. Grayer’s identity as the thief was further confirmed when she left behind her own purse containing identification in the back yard.

The ATM robbery at took place three days later. A woman used the bank machine at the Royal Bank branch on Tecumseh Road East around 11:20 p.m. Grayer was sitting on the floor inside the ATM area. As the woman finished withdrawing cash, Grayer held a handgun to the woman’s head. Grayer fled empty-handed when the woman’s boyfriend noticed the commotion from where he was waiting in his car.

That incident, too, was caught on video.

Grayer also pleaded guilty to assault for spitting on a jail guard in November.

Defence lawyer Christina Sweet said Grayer suffers from mental illness which has only been treated now that she is behind bars.

“Now that she’s on medication, she’s so much better than when I first started dealing with her,” Sweet told the judge.

Sweet said Grayer had been using illegal drugs to self-medicate. She started drinking at age 14, graduated to pot, then crack, crystal meth and opiates. She would steal to pay for drugs.

Sweet asked the judge to consider these factors and sentence Grayer to four years in a federal penitentiary, minus the time she has already spent behind bars awaiting sentencing.

Sweet also asked Bondy to waive $2,100 in what are normally automatic fines for the crimes she committed.

The judge said she wants to hear further submissions on sentencing Friday.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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Dr. Nick Rathe, alleged to have sent police on a wild-goose chase in 2006 in pursuit of a former lover, is innocent on a charge of public mischief, a court ruled Tuesday.

The Crown failed to make its case, and an OPP investigation of the former Belle River family doctor “fell significantly short of establishing proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Rathe made up a story about being the victim of a fraud, Superior Court Justice Christopher Bondy said in a written ruling read out in court.

Rathe, who defended himself at trial and who has been convicted of assault in the past and lost his medical licence, wept after the ruling and was hugged in the courtroom by supporters.

Rathe had gone to police and complained a young woman he had hired as an office worker had taken his driver’s licence and used it to have another man impersonate him when she took out a loan on a used Hyundai Tiburon. But the police investigation quickly turned around on the complainant, who was subsequently charged with fraud and public mischief.

The judge, however, had little good to say about the police investigation and the cast of prosecution witnesses brought forward by the Crown. Bondy described the evidence against Rathe as either inconsistent and unreliable, or even contradictory at times.

• Dr. Nick Rathe’s public mischief trial ends, judge to rule next month
• Former patient tells of affair with Dr. Nick Rathe
• Former doctor Nick Rathe accuses police of bias at his public mischief trial

On the day of the car sale, the woman at the centre of the trial who was buying the car, Michelle Timothy, testified Rathe was with her when the documents were signed. But Rathe offered an alibi — three witnesses who were eating lunch with him somewhere else at the same alleged time.

Verifying that claim “would have been quite simple,” said the judge, but the OPP detective testified he simply didn’t believe Rathe’s alibi, so he didn’t pursue it. “I’m left with reasonable doubt,” said Bondy.

At trial, the car dealership salesman and financial manager both testified they were certain the man with Timothy that day on Jan. 12, 2006, was Rathe, whom they identified from a photo lineup. But Bondy said photo lineups with non-expert witnesses can be “notoriously unreliable,” and the judge cited concerns with the way this one was handled.

The judge also said the investigating officers should have handled the information they were getting from Timothy “with a greater deal of caution.” The woman agreed at trial that she had been threatening to tell Rathe’s wife about their affair and that she was angry with the doctor after he cut off her supply of OxyContin, which Rathe alleged the strip club worker had been selling on the side.

Asked for his reaction to the judgment, Rathe told a reporter: “No comment.” Neither assistant Crown attorney Craig Houle, who was in court for the judgment, or Crown Attorney Nat Bernardon, were available for comment.

Rathe was convicted of assault in 2007 in relation to a road rage incident involving a woman. He was stripped of his medical licence in 2012 by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario after several former patients filed complaints against him.

Rathe gave an opening statement at his trial, but he did not testify in his own defence.

dschmidt@windsorstar.com

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Prosecutors have withdrawn a theft charge against a Windsor criminal lawyer who absent-mindedly walked out of a drug store without paying for Polysporin.

Paul Esco, 61, was charged in December after an employee at Shoppers Drug Mart on Ottawa Street said he was trying to leave without paying for Polysporin and Liquid Bandage.

“This is an innocent man who I believe in strongly, who just made a mistake out of absent-mindedness that day because he’s so busy looking after people in the community and his family,” said lawyer Laura Joy, who appeared in court for Esco.

He had been charged with theft under $5,000. But an out-of-town prosecutor told court Tuesday he was withdrawing the charge because there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

Joy said Esco, who wasn’t in court Tuesday, never intended to steal the items.

“In fairness to Mr. Esco, he was coming back into the store,” said Joy. “He had forgot his Optimum card as well. It’s quite frankly not criminal activity at all.”

“He was taking a phone call, he had many things in his hands and that just got misplaced. There was absolutely no intention whatsoever to steal.”

Esco, a lawyer for more than 20 years, remains a member in good standing with the Law Society of Upper Canada.

twilhelm@windsorstar.com

A Windsor man who had a loaded Kel-Tec 9-mm handgun in his pickup truck was sentenced Wednesday to 20 months in jail.

Gary Vanasse, 44, pleaded guilty to the possession of the prohibited firearm but offered no explanation about what he was doing with it. His guilty plea came on the day his trial was set to begin last year.

Police responding to a call at Vanasse’s King Street home on July 15, 2012, were tipped off about him having a gun. They found the semi-automatic pistol in the front-seat console of his pickup truck that was parked on the front lawn.

Vanasse, at his sentencing hearing, was “rather cryptic” about why he had the gun, Superior Court Justice Gregory Verbeem said Wednesday. Vanasse would only say he had been “put in a bad position by people he was trying to help,” Verbeem said.

Vanasse’s lawyer had argued for a light sentence of six months in jail or house arrest. There was no evidence that Vanasse was involved in any criminal activity and the gun posed no threat, Frank Miller argued.

Miller said Vanasse’s possession of the weapon was more of a “regulatory offence” than a “true crime.”

But assistant Crown attorney Roger Dietrich, arguing for a three-year prison sentence, said illegal firearms pose a danger to the public, especially loaded ones.

The judge agreed. “A loaded gun always poses an immediate danger,” Verbeem said. “To be blunt, he had no business possessing this prohibited firearm ever.”

Vanasse spent almost three months in jail following his arrest. Given the usual enhanced credit for time served, Vanasse was sentenced to an additional 16 months in jail.

Vanasse had tears in his eyes as he turned to his wife in court and mouthed the words, “I love you” before being led away by a police officer.

Miller said Vanasse’s sentence could have been worse. “He was looking down the barrel at three years and he got 16 months.”

Vanasse has a criminal record that includes convictions for possessing stolen property, criminal harassment, uttering threats and drunk driving, but he hasn’t been convicted of any crime in 15 years.

After his release, Vanasse will be on probation for two years. Vanasse will be the subject of a lifetime firearm prohibition and a weapons prohibition for 10 years. He must also provide a blood sample for the national DNA databank police use to solve crime.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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A cocaine-smuggling trucker on the lam since 2009 appeared in a Windsor courtroom Thursday to begin serving a 16-year prison sentence.

Sandeep Hans, 37, who absconded to India during his drug trial, didn’t say why he’d had a change of heart and decided to turn himself in. But he made sure the court was aware of medical conditions he wants treated while in prison – asthma and “heart problems.”

Hans and accomplice Lacchman Singh Chahal were caught at the Ambassador Bridge on Feb. 19, 2007 with 147 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a tractor trailer full of California produce. The Brampton pair went to trial and were convicted of importing a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. Hans had already fled by the time the trial was done. He was convicted and sentenced in absentia.

Hans’ new lawyer, Lakhwinder Sandhu of Brampton, did not attend Thursday’s court appearance. But in a telephone interview afterward, Sandhu said Hans did not return to Canada to avail himself of free medical care in prison.

“I don’t think that’s the reason,” Sandhu said. “This is his own choice.”

Sandhu said Hans told him he fled during the trial because his brother had died in a car crash in India. Hans was distraught, Sandhu said. “He at that time, he was young.”

After Thursday’s appearance in Superior Court, Hans was taken across the street to Ontario court where he was arraigned on charges related to fleeing – failing to attend court and breaching his bail conditions. Sandhu said Hans intends to plead guilty and will likely be handed a sentence to be served consecutively to his 16-year prison term for the drug offences.

Richard Pollock, federal drug prosecutor, said Hans arrived at Pearson International Airport in Toronto Wednesday where RCMP officers were waiting to take him into custody. Sandhu said Hans had wanted to turn himself in earlier but had “exit problems.”

Hans was born in India but has Canadian citizenship.

Hans entered the courtroom Thursday with his fingertips pressed together as in prayer and repeatedly bowed his head at the judge as he walked to the prisoner’s box. Court heard he had spent the night in cells at Windsor police headquarters but will be housed at the South West Detention Centre, the new regional jail.

Hans will make another court appearance in March.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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An admitted thief begged a judge Friday to sentence her to a penitentiary term to get away from the mistreatment she is suffering at Windsor’s new jail.

“I can’t do this no more,” Keimonty Grayer said through tears. “I can’t take the South West Detention Centre. They abuse me.”

Grayer, 28, pleaded guilty this week to 16 crimes, including the attempted robbery of a woman at bank machine with an imitation handgun. Grayer also pleaded guilty to assaulting a jail guard by spitting.

“She feels she is being retaliated against,” Christina Sweet, Grayer’s lawyer told the court.

Grayer began yelling and swearing in court when Ontario court Justice Sharman Bondy suggested Grayer’s sentencing hearing be adjourned so the Crown can reconsider its position. The hearing, originally scheduled for one day, has been adjourned three times.

Grayer said she will agree to serve the six years the Crown originally suggested before discovering one of Grayer’s crimes did not carry a mandatory minimum sentence of four years.

Assistant Crown attorney Tim Kavanagh said he’d like an opportunity to reconsider his position on sentencing.

“No. No. I don’t care,” Grayer said. “My life is in my own hands. I am willing to take the six years.”

She then told Bondy, “Why can’t you just judge and do what you need to do?”

Bondy tried to reason with Grayer. “Take it easy,” she told the agitated woman.

Grayer’s mother repeatedly tried to shush her daughter, to no avail.

Grayer then demanded to be taken from the courtroom and back into a jail cell.

Bondy told the court she has no control over where Grayer is housed while in custody or how she is treated by guards at the South West Detention Centre.

“I have to hope officials do the right thing by her.”

Grayer pleaded guilty to committing 15 crimes between May and September of last year. She broke into houses while residents were sleeping, she broke into a car and cashed cheques she found inside and she went shopping with stolen credit cards. She was caught on video breaking into a hotel and trying to steal a projector, and later, holding an imitation handgun to the head of a woman at a bank machine.

Court has heard Grayer suffers from mental illness and committed crimes to finance her drug addiction.

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A Kitchener trucker arrested at the Ambassador Bridge in 2011 for having 39 kilograms of cocaine in a shipment of California raspberries has been found not guilty on drug charges.

Drago Knezevic, 54, was acquitted Friday by Superior Court Justice Thomas Carey. Carey presided over Knezevic’s trial held over four sporadic weeks last year. Knezevic stood trial on charges of importing cocaine and possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Knezevic testified at trial that he had no idea he was transporting two bags of cocaine. His truck had been loaded with raspberries at Western Precooling in California and was destined for a Metro warehouse in Etobicoke.

Defence lawyer Frank Miller said he was pleased for his client, a married father of two. “He’s a hard-working man.”

Miller said Knezevic continued to work driving a truck after being charged, but has only worked within Canada.

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A Kingsville man who pleaded guilty to possessing hundreds of child pornography images was sentenced Monday to 14 months in prison.

The 328 images and 34 videos found on Robert Denza’s computer in March 2011 were quite “vile and despicable,” Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said.

Denza, 46, does not believe he’s attracted to children and blamed his behaviour – at least in part – on his significant alcohol addiction, according to a pre-sentence report prepared for the judge. The Crown disagreed, saying not all alcoholics turn to child porn when they drink.

“I appreciate the fact you do not believe you are attracted to young persons and you’re really unsure as to why you may be in possession of this (type of pornography),” Thomas said in his sentencing. “While you may not be able to understand why you acquired those (images) . . . it’s because people like you choose to acquire them that it creates a market for those who would create them and who would abuse, very directly, young people and make them the focus of those pictures.”

When police arrested Denza four years ago, they confiscated eight computers from the basement of his home, discovering images of children as young as five engaged in sexual acts, bestiality and bondage. In November 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of making child pornography available.

Investigators found their way to Denza after investigating a website that is used to share photographs and videos, and found that he uploaded six images that were circulating on one particular date. Those images turned out to be just a sampling of his collection, which Thomas described as “not an insignificant amount of child pornography.”

Denza was also given three years probation and is banned from being in the presence of any child under the age of 16 unless it’s with an approved adult. He must adhere to conditions that include not being able to use devices or Internet services that allow him to store digital files, unless those devices or services are for work.

His lawyer, Andrew Bradie, asked for a 12-month sentence, saying Denza is seeking help for alcohol addiction, has a new job and is now in a new, healthy romantic relationship. The Crown was asking for an 18-month sentence.

Thomas considered several factors when coming up with a sentence that is just four months longer than the minimum allowable jail term. No factor was more significant than Denza’s lack of a previous criminal record and his guilty plea, Thomas explained.

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The Honourable Justice Kirk W. Munroe received his judicial robes Monday.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Superior Court of Justice on Monday, March 2, 2015.

Many friends, family members, civic leaders, judges and courthouse co-workers crowded into the courtroom to observe the ceremony.

The Honourable Mr. Justice Kirk W. Munroe smiles while facing the audience during his official Swearing-in ceremony as Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor Monday, March 2, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

A former St. Clair College student who participated in a violent convenience store robbery in 2013 was sentenced Tuesday to another four years and four months in prison.

Maher Abdullah Falah-Abdullah, 23, has already spent more than a year in jail for the June 3, 2013 robbery. With the customary enhanced credit for time served awaiting sentencing, Falah-Abdullah got 20 months knocked off what would have been a seven-year penitentiary term.

Falah-Abdullah and Amir Al-Hakim, also 23, helped plan the robbery of a convenience store owner working alone. Court heard Tuesday that the pair — with Lamar Porter, 29, and Jhoan Sebastin Aguelo-Duque, 23, keeping lookout outside — burst into the Parent Avenue corner store about 1 a.m. and beat the store owner with the butt of a sawed-off shotgun.

Toronto police, conducting surveillance on Porter, had tapped Porter’s cellphone and had been listening to him and Falah-Abdullah plan the robbery.

The store owner, who was beaten in the face and knees during the robbery that lasted two hours, lost his business because of his inability to work following the attack. The man and his family are now on social assistance.

But Falah-Abdullah, in addressing the court Tuesday, had no words of remorse for what he did to the man. In a long, drawn-out explanation for his “mistake,” Falah-Abdullah told Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas that being in jail has taught him the error of his ways. Falah-Abdullah also claimed he was “forced” to participate in the robbery under threat that harm would come to his family.

“I reject that explanation,” Thomas told Falah-Abdullah. Police were listening to his conversations with Porter and there was no evidence of coercion. Falah-Abdullah has a 2010 conviction for a similar armed robbery, the judge pointed out.

The 2013 robbery, the judge told Falah-Abdullah is “consistent with your record.”

Al-Hakim pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced in Ontario court to four years in prison — the minimum sentence allowed by law.

Noting her client’s young age, defence lawyer Maria Carroccia asked Thomas to impose the same sentence for Falah-Abdullah.

Assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Holmes asked for a sentence of six to seven years. Al-Hakim came before the court with no criminal record. Falah-Abdullah not only had a conviction for another armed robbery, he had convictions for breaching conditions of the bail he was granted for this robbery.

Carroccia said Falah-Abdullah had been at St. Clair studying to become a lab technician. His studies were suspended when he was jailed. Falah-Abdullah, who immigrated to Canada from Iraq with his parents and two brothers, said he regrets committing crimes rather than pursuing the opportunity offered by his adopted homeland. “I was in a place like Canada… where options were there for me and they were good options.”

The judge said he was glad the young man recognized that.

“One of the reasons immigrants find Canada attractive is that we have the rule of law,” Thomas said. “You face punishment when you breach the laws of the country you call home.”

Thomas imposed on Falah-Abdullah a lifetime firearms prohibition and ordered the he provide a blood sample for the national DNA databank used by police to solve crime.

Porter was described in court as the “directing mind” of the robbery. He and Agudelo-Duque have pleaded not guilty and are headed to trial.

Noting that Falah-Abdullah’s accomplices have not yet stood trial, Holmes asked for a publication ban on Tuesday’s hearing. The judge denied the request.

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A Windsor man caught on video beating a muskie to death before throwing it back into the Detroit River was fined $1,000 Wednesday and banned from fishing for two years.

Edmond L. Parent, 53, better known as Eddie Parent, pleaded guilty in Ontario court to breaching Ontario regulations under the Fisheries Act. Parent admitted he purposefully killed an undersized muskellunge, or as court heard, “failed to release it in a way that caused the least harm to the fish.”

Parent was fishing in the Detroit River Sept. 3 when two nearby anglers saw him bludgeoning a fish he had caught then throwing it back in the water. They approached him and captured him on video in a expletive-laced diatribe about how he kills every muskie he comes across because they eat the fish he likes to catch.

The anglers posted the video online, capturing the attention of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The video garnered tens of thousands of views within days and, with media attention, members of the public offered up Parent’s name.

Prosecutor Demetrius Kappos Wednesday asked justice of the peace Salma Jaffar to impose a $2,000 fine. Hearing that Parent is on social assistance, Jaffar imposed a $1,000 fine and gave Parent three months to pay.

Parent, who quickly left the courthouse Wednesday, cannot fish for two years or be with anyone who is fishing or carrying fishing equipment or tackle.

Muskie is a trophy fish managed by the MNR because of the species’ slow growth and low reproduction rate. The possession limit is one. According to provincial legislation, any muskie less than 112 centimetres long must be immediately released in a manner that causes the least harm to the fish.

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A Windsor man already serving jail time for other crimes was acquitted Thursday of a home invasion in which the assailant’s weapons of choice were a plumbing wrench and a can in a sock.

Darrell S. McNaughton, 35, was found not guilty in a Dec. 13, 2013 home invasion on Hickory Road.

Peter Risatti testified he was in his living room about 11:30 p.m. waiting for a neighbour to drop by to return money he had borrowed. Risatti said he had left the door unlocked at the bottom of the stairs. When he heard someone come in, he walked to the top of the stairs. He was met by a stranger who was swearing and telling him to get on the ground. Risatti said he thought it was a joke until the man started swinging weapons at him. He was clipped on the forehead with the can in the sock. It later took two stitches to close the wound.

Risatti said he stomped on the floor, summoning his neighbour who lived downstairs. The neighbour tackled the intruder, but the man managed to “squirm” away.

The neighbour’s wife called police who arrived just minutes after the attack. Constables Adam Spinarsky and Aaron Nacklie said they headed down the alley in the direction the intruder ran away. The man who had been coming to see Risatti was outside and directed officers to a home Whelpton Street. Inside, they found McNaughton and a pair of pants with Risatti’s blood on them.

Defence lawyer John Liddle pointed out discrepancies in the officers’ testimony. Spinarsky said McNaughton wasn’t wearing pants when he was arrested. Nacklie said he was. They also gave differing accounts of the shirt McNaughton was wearing.

Liddle called the case against his client “entirely circumstantial,” and urged Ontario court Justice Barry Tobin to acquit.

The judge did, saying there was no evidence tying McNaughton to the pants.

The acquittal did not secure McNaughton’s freedom. There was a warrant for his arrest at the time of the home invasion on unrelated charges. Liddle said he is currently serving time for property offences.

McNaughton has a long criminal record. He was featured in media reports about a 2007 riot at Windsor Jail where he was an inmate at the time.

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