A 30-year-old Charlottetown man was sentenced Monday in provincial court to serve almost 20 months in the provincial correctional centre for a series of residential break-ins.
The sentence was imposed in the case of Matthew Winters.
Chief Judge John Douglas sentenced Winters to terms of nine months on each of two charges of breaking into a dwelling place. He then received four months in jail, less 2 ½ months credit for time served, on another charge.
The court was told the victims in two of these instances were people in their 80s.
In one instance, the victim was at home asleep when they broke in.
Winters and a second man took a variety of items during these breaks, including an Xbox, an LCD projector, socket sets, a drill and a hand sander.
The court was told Winters and his partner both have addictions issues.
Crown counsel Valerie Moore said a federal sentence was warranted in this case. She noted that breaks into dwelling houses are considered to be among the most serious offences which come before the court.
Moore said elderly persons were victimized by the actions of Winters and his partner.
Thane MacEachern, Winters’ defence counsel, said his client had accepted responsibility or his actions and had a relatively minor criminal record until now.
MacEachern noted that since being remanded into custody, Winters has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and drug counselling sessions at the jail and is working towards getting his GEDs.
Winters apologized to the court for his actions and expressed remorse.
Upon release from jail, Winters will spend three years on probation. He must stay away from the victims and is barred from attending three pawnshops, Cash Converters, Most Wanted and Island Collateral.
Douglas ordered Winters to provide a DNA sample for the national DNA databank.
He must also pay $300 in victims of crime surcharges.
