BY KEITH LACEY
A Sudbury teenager who went on a wild and prolonged seven-month crime spree was given a long jail sentence Monday.
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Simon Inkster, who also uses the alias Simon Boisvert, was sentenced to 10 months in jail on top of six weeks heÂ?s already spent in custody.
Inkster will spend his 19th birthday behind bars as he turned 19 Tuesday.
Inkster, who court heard had not been in trouble with the law before he started hanging around with a bunch of different friends, started his crime spree back last December.
He pleaded guilty Monday to numerous serious charges, including forging two cheques in the amount of almost $20,000, stealing merchandise from a local retail outlet, carrying a concealed weapon (pocket knife) and obstructing justice by threatening a witness scheduled to testify in court against one of his friends.
In the two days before he was arrested in late July, Inkster stole a van and attempted to steal another car and was involved in a dangerous high-speed police chase.
Court heard Inkster forged one cheque for just over $9,000 on Dec. 8 and the next day attempted to cash a forged cheque for just under $10,000.
Inkster told the teller of a cash outlet he had found the cheque in the mail, the cheque was seized and police were contacted.
Inkster was placed on probation when he and some friends stole merchandise from Wal-Mart. When he was caught and searched by police, they found a pocket knife on him.
In late February, Inkster and several friends visited the apartment of a man and his girlfriend. The man was scheduled to testify against one of InksterÂ?s friends.
After taking several items from the apartment, including a Sony Play Station and $500 in cash, Inkster and several of his friends threatened the man Â?that if he testified something bad would happen.Â?
On July 22, Inkster used break-in tools to steal a van. He and two friends tried to steal two other vehicles later that evening.
When police tried to pull over the van, Inkster sped off and police pursued him at a high rate of speed.
At one point, Inkster drove the van at more than 100 kilometres an hour between two police cruisers.
Near the Rainbow Centre Shopping Mall, Inkster lost control of the vehicle, hit a curb and shot across a median before continuing to try and drive away.
He told police he finally decided to pull over Â?because I thought I was going to kill myself back there.Â?
Defence counsel Richard Huneault said Inkster got into trouble after quitting school last October.
He went out on his own and started to hang around with a group of friends who got into a lot of trouble on a regular basis, said Huneault.
Â?One has to ask why did he get involved in a rampageÂ?and not just petty crime, but pretty serious stuff,Â? he said.
Â?The bottom line was to him life was a jokeÂ?and he started hanging around with a terrible crowd and he simply didnÂ?t care.Â?
Inkster has undergone medical tests for a serious illness and doesnÂ?t know the results of those tests yet, but heÂ?s had a long time to evaluate his life since being jailed seven weeks ago and knows he wants to turn things around, said Huneault.
Under all the circumstances, a jail sentence of 10 more months and a three-year driving prohibition would be appropriate, he said.
Assistant Crown attorney Susan Stothart said despite InksterÂ?s youth and health problems, he committed numerous serious criminal acts and must be punished for it.
Threatening witnesses, forging cheques for large amounts of money, stealing vehicles and leading police on high-speed pursuits all cry out for jail sentences, she said.
Before Justice William Fitzgerald agreed to the 10-month jail sentence, probation and three-year driving prohibition, Inkster told the court he was sorry for his actions.
Â?I do have remorse for what IÂ?ve done,Â? he said. Â?I apologize to those IÂ?ve hurt and hopefully I can make things better when I get out.
Â?I want to change my life aroundÂ?I know the things IÂ?ve done arenÂ?t right.Â?
