A Greater Sudbury man convicted on 25 counts related to a rash of break and enters late last winter is accused of going on a robbery spree after a judge set him free for three days to get his affairs in order before going to jail.
John Nickerson, 29, was charged multiple times in relation to smash and grab type break and enters that occurred between March 1 and April 10 at businesses in the boundaries of Elgin Street, Regent Street, Frood Road and Notre Dame Avenue.
He was arrested and charged with 11 counts of break and enter, three counts of disguise with intent and 11 counts of breach of probation on April 10. He had been in custody at Sudbury Jail from April 10 to Aug. 14, when he was sentenced in relation to the charges described above.
But rather than being returned to custody, a judge released Nickerson on a recognizance and gave him three days to get his affairs in order before reporting to Sudbury Jail on Aug. 17.
Nickerson never reported, and in the time he was free, is accused of having committed another string of B&Es, for which he now faces six additional charges. He has not been convicted of those charges.
Staff Sgt. Rick Waugh of Greater Sudbury Police Service's Criminal Investigations Division said the decision to release Nickerson is frustrating for officers.
"The judge who sentenced him ... for reasons unknown to me, decided that the accused would be granted a period of time of leave to get his affairs in order before being incarcerated," Waugh said. "And then of course, he never showed back up and he (allegedly) committed more crimes, which is the frustrating part for us."
Between his release on Aug. 14 and his re-arrest on Sept. 20, Nickerson is accused of going on another string of B&Es.
Police allege that on Aug. 19, two days after he was supposed to have been incarcerated, Nickerson broke into a store on Notre Dame Avenue and stole donations to support people being treated for leukemia.
Then, on Sept. 12, police allege Nickerson broke into a store on Walnut Street, where he was apparently captured on video surveillance committing the crime.
On Sept. 20, a man police believe to be Nickerson entered an establishment on Jean Street by smashing the front door to the building. Police alleged he took an undetermined amount of money, fleeing on foot before police arrived.
That same day, at around 12:30 p.m. officers from the GSPS Break Enter and Robbery (B.E.A.R.) Unit with assistance from the Intelligence Unit located and arrested Nickerson on Kathleen Street. He now faces six charges, including break and enter to commit an indictable offence, break, enter and commit theft and two counts of breach of probation.
Waugh told Sudbury.com that the GSPS had concerns about Nickerson and those worries were expressed on the man's bail sheet, where police are able to make recommendations on risks that they may feel are present.
The bail sheet is then passed along to the Crown, which expresses the police's concern for the release of the accused.
"We make recommendations to the Crown and I'm sure they fought the good fight," said Waugh. "They generally will look at what we say and the paperwork is there to support our opinions. We don't just make personal decisions on people depending on how we're feeling that day.
"It's all based on criminal history, lifestyle and risk to the community. We're ultimately the ones to try to keep the public safe."
For Waugh, it's not the additional work that was required to re-arrest and charge Nickerson, but that his release may have resulted in additional people being victimized.
"When I look at this particular incident I feel like there may have been victims here that didn't need to be victimized," said Waugh. "But I'm looking at it from a police perspective, I wasn't there for the judicial proceedings.
"I see the frustration here with our B.E.A.R. Unit officers because they worked on this guy for a while and put a lot of work into it, and that's what we get paid to do, but we also have to deal with the victims and we see how it affects them."
