Arson suspect flip-flops on guilty pleas
Shawn Allan McLaughlin, 63, of no fixed address, says he’s “not in accord” with how case unfolded, demands another trial, even though he hasn’t been through one on charges
A prosecutor described Tuesday how an unhoused man broke into a downtown shelter, an apartment and a restaurant a year ago, setting a fire at the latter location.
But before the court could hear recommendations on sentencing, the defendant asserted he hadn’t committed the crimes despite having pleaded guilty to them this summer.
Shawn Allan McLaughlin, 62, of no fixed address, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by video conference from the Southeast Regional Correctional Centre in Shediac for a sentencing hearing.
He’d previously pleaded guilty to a Nov. 7, 2024, count of mischief causing damage to a window at Brunswick Street Baptist Church; a Nov. 10, 2024, break and enter at Islandview House on Brunswick Street; break and enter at William’s Seafood and arson Nov. 21, 2024; and a Nov. 23, 2024, break and enter at a Regent Street apartment; as well as four related counts of breach of probation.
