Teen sentenced to one year in jail

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

speakup

One of two individuals charged in the wake of several break, enter and thefts in the area was sentenced to one year behind bars on March 12 in Edmundston provincial court.

Eighteen-year-old Luc Gaétan Desjardins of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes pleaded guilty to the charges laid against him by the RCMP at the end of their investigation into a rash of burglaries in area homes and businesses last December. A 17-year-old co-accused will be sentenced on April 9 for his involvement in the same break, enter and thefts.

The court was told that at approximately 1 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2007, Desjardins and another teenager illegally entered a Drummond residence owned by Thérèse and Sylvain Cormier. Both youths were wearing masks and were armed with a knife and a crowbar. They entered the garage and the basement of the home.

The homeowners, awakened by the noise, confronted the two teenagers who asked them to open the safe and to give them all their jewelry. Finding nothing to steal, the two teens left the residence with a bottle of liquor.

The homeowners called the RCMP who launched an investigation into the incident. Police were kept busy in the following hours as five other complaints were received pertaining to other break, enter and thefts in the area.

The second incident occurred at Larry’s Grocery, owned by Laurent Damboise, in Siegas where the thieves broke into the store and stole lottery tickets.

They then broke a window to gain entrance into a Ste. Anne residence, owned by Pauline Morneault, where they stole a wallet, the content of which was not disclosed in court.

The duo then broke into One Stop Redemption, owned by René Eugène Martin, in St. Leonard Parent and left the premises after they could not steal money from the cash drawer. They then broke into properties owned by Lucia Violette and Bertin Thériault, in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes and stole two electric guitars valued at approximately $2,000.

They ended their crime spree in St. Leonard Parent where they broke into a private residence, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Claude Langlais, and damaged floors and a mirror and stole Christmas presents and several pieces of electronic equipment such as a computer, a DVD player and a digital camera.

Once his jail term is completed, Desjardins will be on probation for a period of two years. During that time, he is prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages or drugs. He is also prohibited from contacting his 17-year-old accomplice and from possessing any type of firearm for a period of 10 years.