‘It didn’t come from Scotiabank’
Shaun Leo Francis, 45, gets community-based sentence for passing bogus bill
A Bilijk (Kingsclear) First Nation man with a 10-page criminal record who passed a counterfeit $100 bill at a downtown business last year won’t go to jail for the crime.
Shaun Leo Francis, 45, of French Village Road, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Wednesday for sentencing for uttering counterfeit currency.
He’d previously pleaded guilty to the charge.
Crown prosecutor Geoffrey Hutchin said Francis was caught on video at the King Street Irving on March 14, 2022, providing a $100 bill to buy cigarettes, and he received change from the purpose.
It was shortly thereafter employees realized the bill was bogus, he said, and they called police to report the incident. Officers identified Francis from the video, court heard.
When an officer spotted Francis at a bus stop a few days later, the prosecutor said, he stopped to arrest him.
“Mr. Francis made a spontaneous utterance he didn’t know the bill was counterfeit,” Hutchin said.
He filed a copy of the offender’s past criminal history with the court, noting it was 10 pages long and included previous convictions for property crimes, though there were no priors involving funny money.
The prosecutor said Francis’ record is so lengthy, he’s reaching the point at which he could get jail time just for jaywalking. However, he said, given his guilty plea, the Crown wasn’t seeking incarceration for this latest offence.
Instead, Hutchin recommended a 60-day conditional sentence, to be served in the community subject to a strict curfew. He also asked the court to impose a probation order requiring Francis to pay restitution to the Irving.
Duty counsel Melinda Ponting-Moore said the conditional sentence was a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence.
Francis accepts responsibility for his actions, she said, noting he’s an Indigenous man whose life has been affected by numerous systemic, historical traumas.
He has wrestled with substance abuse and housing challenges on and off throughout his life, the defence lawyer said.
“He’s struggled with an alienation from his community,” she said. “He’s trying to right the ship.”
“You’re getting a little bit old to be in here,” Judge Henrik Tonning told Francis.
The offender agreed, acknowledging he needed to make some changes.
“Where’d you get it?” the judge asked him, referring to the counterfeit bill.
“It doesn’t matter where I got it,” Francis said.
“It didn’t come from Scotiabank,” Tonning jibed back.
The judge accepted the jointly recommended sentence, imposed a conditional sentence for 60 days. During that time, Francis must be in his residence from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and stay off the premises of the King Street Irving.
That’s to be followed by one year of probation, during which Francis is to continue to stay away from the Irving and to pay $100 in restitution.
Tonning also imposed a $100 victim-fine surcharge.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
For someone with a long record, that seems like a pretty light sentence.