BY KEITH LACEY
A Sudbury teenager who celebrated the fact he wasn?t going to jail for numerous property crimes by going on another crime spree will spend the next several months behind bars.
Carl Boyer, 18, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing two vehicles two weeks ago by using a baseball bat to smash in windows to gain access to the ignition to steal a van and car.
This happened only hours after Boyer had received a six-month conditional sentence to be served in the community after pleading guilty to numerous property crimes that took place several months ago.
Defence counsel Alex Toffoli told the court ?only in the mind of an 18-year-old? would it seem a good idea to celebrate not being sentenced to jail by getting together with a bunch of friends and going out to steal more property.
Court heard Boyer and some other friends were sitting inside a donut shop in Chelmsford after stealing four vehicles.
When police officers in the same donut shop questioned the young males, Boyer took off a cap he was wearing and a marijuana cigarette fell out.
Court also heard Boyer had consumed several Valium pills earlier in the evening.
Toffoli said his client realizes the conditional sentence granted will be revoked and he?s going to have to spend the rest of his six-month sentence behind bars.
Boyer had also spent four months in pre-trial custody for his previous rash of crimes before the conditional sentence was imposed two weeks ago.
Because this will be his first adult sentence and his client is only 18, Toffoli said the court must consider the ?totality of sentence? and urged the court to impose an additional 30 days in jail for stealing the two vehicles, bringing his total sentence to seven months.
Boyer is only 18, but has a long standing problem abusing alcohol and drugs, but he?s willing to accept any kind of counseling that might be provided while incarcerated, said Toffoli.
Justice Gerald Michel agreed to the seven-month total sentence, but not before warning Boyer to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
?If there?s one thing I want you to remember from today, that thing is to stay away from drugs,? said the veteran judge.
?You?re obviously not smart enough to stay out of trouble? when under the influence.
Michel said he wished members of the public and Parliament who want soft drugs like marijuana made legal or decriminalized to ?spend one month in a courtroom?.
He believes they would change their mind seeing the serious problems using and abusing even soft drugs causes among young people.
