Judge Roderick Sutton wanted to send a message to Aaron D’Allesandro for breaching his conditional sentence order.
It should have been the classic line from the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.”
But, after getting his chance to serve his sentence at home, and failing to abide by the rules, D’Allesandro will be serving the remaining 29 days behind bars, along with seven additional days due to his breaches.
“A message needs to be delivered,” said Judge Sutton on Monday in Campbell River provincial court.
D’Allesandro appeared by video from jail cells in Victoria after being arrested on a warrant June 13.
The 22-year-old, who has a previous conviction for assault causing bodily harm, had been given a 45-day conditional sentence on May 14, by Judge Peter Doherty, for two counts of theft under $5,000.
The convictions stem from April 26-27, when D’Allesandro stole $100 worth of lottery tickets from one business and followed up the next day by stealing $40 in shaving supplies from London Drugs.
However, after being handed the conditional sentence – meaning he could serve his time at home on strict conditions – D’Allesandro was no where to be found when police checked on him May 18, at 2:47 a.m., just four days after he was sentenced.
Campbell River RCMP make it a habit of checking up on people who are on probation or who are serving conditional sentences – particularly in the middle of the night.
On May 22, D’Allesandro failed to report to his conditional sentence supervisor. Then, on May 23, at 11:30 p.m., police again knocked on his apartment door – this time for 12 minutes – but he never answered.
As a result, a warrant for D’Allesandro’s arrest was issued. When he appeared in court Monday, Crown prosecutor John Boccabella asked the judge terminate the conditional sentence and to replace that with jail.
Defence lawyer James Hormoth said D’Allesandro had to move out of the apartment due to the frequent checks by police which was upsetting the other tenants.
He also said D’Allesandro plans to enter the Second Chance Recovery House after his sentence is over and to follow up with further residential treatment for an undisclosed substance abuse problem.
However, Boccabella expressed skepticism over D’Allesandro’s excuse for being out of his residence.
So did the judge as he ordered D’Allesandro to serve out the 29 days, and seven new days, behind bars.