At the tender age of 19, Shane Nault already has the distinction of one of Sudbury?s most respected judges calling him ?a professional criminal?.
Nault pleaded guilty Wednesday to breaking into a Ramsey Lake camp on April 13 with co-accused Tony Martin.
They smashed a window to gain access and evidence showed they smashed another window while inside, but didn?t steal any merchandise after an alarm sounded.
Several witnesses noticed the two young men leaving the scene and told police they matched the description of Nault and Martin, when police apprehended them close to the scene.
Defence counsel Natalie Boivin said Nault ?finally admits? he has a drug problem and told the court Nault?s horrible criminal record is mostly related to him stealing to support his drug habit.
Nault has been smoking marijuana since age 9 and finally recognizes he has to address his substance abuse problem, she said.
Her client has already spent almost 50 days in custody and considering his record, a further two months behind bars would be an appropriate sentence, she said.
Assistant Crown attorney Alex Kurke said Nault has a terrible criminal record with numerous break, enter and thefts and other property crimes and a four-month jail sentence is more appropriate. Kurke also asked the courts to order Nault to provide a DNA sample for a national crime data bank.
Mahaffy split the difference and imposed a three-month sentence on top of time served, but not before noting that Nault is going to spend much more time behind bars in the future because it?s clear to him he?s a professional criminal despite only being a teenager.
Mahaffy also agreed Nault should provide a DNA sample.
