Steel bars for copper thief

Stuart Raymond McCann, 41, of Fredericton, earns six-month jail term for helping himself to Bell Aliant wiring, robbing dozens of people of telecommunications services

A Fredericton man who tried unsuccessfully to hide from police in the woods after being caught in the act of stripping copper wire from Bell Aliant lines will spend a little more time in the clink.

Stuart Raymond McCann, 41, of Embleton Avenue, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by video conference from jail Thursday for his sentencing hearing.

He’d previously pleaded guilty to counts of theft and mischief causing damage to Bell Aliant property.

Stuart McCann (Photo: Facebook)

Crown prosecutor Brett Stanford told court Thursday the RCMP received a call from a Bell Aliant worker about a theft in progress late in the morning on March 28.

The employee was checking Bell Aliant infrastructure and happened upon a man in a blue jacket removing copper wire from the lines in a remote area, the prosecutor said.

Once the Mountie arrived on the scene and interviewed the witness, court heard, the officer received a report of someone in a blue jacket matching the description walking down the road.

The suspect was spotted, Stanford said, and he fled into the woods. The RCMP called in a canine unit to help track down the man, he said.

“Approximately 200 metres into the woods, the copper wire was located,” the prosecutor said.

The length of wire was worth about $1,000, he said.

The search continued, court heard, and the suspect - later identified as McCann - was found hiding in some shrubs, and he was arrested.

Stanford said McCann’s actions damaged the Bell Aliant lines and cost the company $21,000 to repair.

The company filed a victim-impact statement with the court, and Judge Lucie Mathurin noted it indicated 124 customers were affected by the damage to the lines, as they were without telephone and internet service for about 12 hours.

Defence lawyer Angèle Normand said the root cause of the crimes is clear, as McCann has “a long-standing issue with addiction.”

Specifically, she said, he abuses opiates, and he commits crimes to feed his habit.

“He has been sober since his incarceration,” Normand said.

The Crown and defence offered a joint recommendation on sentence: six months in jail, less credit for time spent on remand.

Normand said while McCann was remanded during his initial court appearance in late March, he was also sentenced on other matters since that time. As a result, she said, he served 103 days on remand. 

After the standard 1.5-to-one remand credit formula is applied, that means his credit comes to 155 days.

Judge Lucie Mathurin said McCann presents with a significant prior criminal record, and the aggravating factors in the case include the damage and inconvenience he caused to so many.

She said the criminal record shows a pattern of offences followed by a gap stemming from a period of sobriety, only to show another spate of offences.

“You can see that there’s a cycle that you go through,” the judge said, urging McCann to get help and break that cycle.

She accepted the joint recommendation, imposing a global jail term of six months.

Reduced to account for the remand credit, that left 25 days to serve on the sentence.

The judge also placed McCann on probation for 12 months, during which he’s to attend addiction services for assessment and treatment, and to abstain from all intoxicants.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.