By Keith Lacey
An area teenager who ripped off his grandmother and then a Good Samaritan during a recent crime spree was sentenced to six months in jail Wednesday.
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Isaac Cooper, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and possession of a sawed-off shotgun.
Court heard Cooper tried to pass off a bad cheque heÂ?d stolen from his grandmother several weeks ago.
The storeowner was suspicious and wouldnÂ?t cash the cheque.
A few days later, Cooper was hitchhiking in the Alban area when a trucker picked him up and offered a ride.
When the trucker was filling up his gas tank, Cooper stole a digital camera and pawned it several days later.
When police questioned Cooper about stealing the camera, a search of his residence uncovered the sawed-off shotgun.
Defence counsel Victor Vere said Cooper has only recently got in trouble with the law.
His client was Â?basically abandonedÂ? by his parents and he and a sibling have been raised by their grandparents.
Cooper feels terrible for stealing the cheques from his grandmother, he said.
Possessing a dangerous weapon is a serious charge, but his client did plead guilty and is willing to accept his punishment and in all the circumstances a six-month jail sentence is warranted, he said.
Zylberberg said stealing from a woman who has done so much for him and then from a Good Samaritan is serious, but more worrisome is Cooper possessing a dangerous weapon.
Â?ItÂ?s very scary to think about why he was in possession of such a weapon,Â? he said. Â?It makes one wonder what he was planning.Â?
Mahaffy agreed to the six-month jail sentence and prohibited Cooper from owning or possessing any restricted weapon for 10 years.
