Ringing wrong doorbell leads to broken-curfew charge, 15 days jail time

By Peggy Revell on August 11, 2017.

Medicine Hat News

A late night mistake and doorbell camera led police to arresting a man breaking his curfew conditions.

Randy Yaholnitsky entered a guilty plea Thursday at the Medicine Hat courthouse to breaking his curfew, and was sentenced to 15 days in jail, with six days credit for time served.

Yaholnitsky was arrested following an incident July 29 at 2:52 a.m., when a local couple was asleep in their residence, and their doorbell rang. This triggered a doorbell camera to start filming, as part of a home security system.

The male half of the couple got up and told the person at the door to go away, and that they had the wrong house. The woman though, was still startled, and felt that the person had been attempting to break and enter into the home. She proceeded to post the doorbell camera footage on Facebook and to warn people.

Using this footage, police were able to identify the man at the door as Yaholnitsky, who was under a curfew requirement as part of release conditions.

The incident was not a break and enter attempt, the Crown prosecutor emphasized during sentencing, but was a case of Yaholnitsky getting the wrong address.

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