St. Catharines man gets long sentence for break and enter

BY KEITH LACEY

A St. Catharines area man will spend another four months in jail on top of almost eight months he's already served after admitting he helped another man break into a Coniston convenience store last May 30.

Edward Sheppard, 26, a father of three young children, pleaded guilty to break, enter and theft at the Sudbury Courthouse Thursday.

Greater Sudbury Police received a tip from a citizen and were quickly on the scene around 2:30 am and found two people inside the store. The two men fled on foot, but were quickly captured.

The two men were found to be in possession of a stolen car and license plate from southern Ontario, burglary tools and a large amount of cigarettes and some coins.

Inside the store, police discovered the ATM machine was busted, but defense counsel Denis Michel said no money was stolen as the internal safe inside the machine worked well.

Police also discovered the store's alarm system had been disabled before the break and enter took place.

Michel said all the items stolen during the robbery were recovered by police.

Because Sheppard has such a bad criminal record, an additional four months in jail is an appropriate sentence, said Justice Robbie Gordon of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

A second man charged in the case, Jason Gorman, 24, also from southern Ontario, has asked the charges he faces in this case be transferred to London, where he is facing other charges on other matters.