Jail time for man guilty of multiple offences

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on July 5, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 34-year-old Lethbridge man with a long criminal record that includes a conviction for manslaughter, has been sent to jail for committing several criminal offences in and around the city between 2020 and 2021.
William Edward Fick was sentenced to 17 months behind bars after he pleaded guilty Monday in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of shop-breaking, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, breaching a peace bond, escaping lawful custody, breaching release orders, possession of stolen property over $5,000, obstructing a peace officer, disobeying a Queen’s Bench order, and mischief.
On April 2, 2020 a man called police to report that Fick had threatened him with a gun. Fick had gone to the man’s northside home and threatened to put a bullet in his head. Fick pulled what appeared to be a gun out of his pants and chased the victim, who feared for his life, down the street. At the time of the offence, Fick was bound by a peace bond.
The following month, on May 6, an agitated Fick was in the backyard of a Lethbridge residence, where he was holding two logs while looking toward the alley. Fick asked the landlord and tenant of the residence if he could enter the home, but they called police. When officers arrived Fick was shaking in the backyard and still holding the two logs, which he dropped to the ground when ordered by the police.
“Mr. Fick openly admitted he was high on methamphetamine, and was scared that he was being followed,” Crown Prosecutor Adam Zelmer told court.
At the time, Fick was bound by a Queen’s Bench order not to consume or possess intoxicating substances.
On June 17 Fick and another man and woman were seen by the owner of a rural residence while the three were rifling around inside the property owner’s barn. The three individuals drove away in a truck, but the owner recognized Fick and knew of his violent criminal past, and called police.
The following month police pulled over a motor vehicle that had been reported stolen. Fick and two others were inside the vehicle, and at the time Fick was, by way of a previous release order, prohibited from being in a motor vehicle without the registered owner. The others in the vehicle were charged with possession of stolen property.
Almost a year later, on June 21, 2021, Fick was caught with a truck that had been reported stolen. The truck had broken down while Fick was driving it, and he received a ride to his house from another motorist. Police noticed the truck on the side of the road and went to Fick’s residence, but he fled and was caught later with the help of a police dog.
Two months later, at about 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 23, police were patrolling near 31 Street South and saw a car parked at Henderson Lake with a licence plate that had been stolen from Coaldale. Fick and two women were just getting inside the car when police activated their emergency lights, and the individuals were ordered to step away from the vehicle. A constable directed Fick to lie on the ground but he initially refused, and then when the officer struggled with one of the women, Fick took off. He was arrested a short time later just down the road.
At the time of his arrest, Fick was also in breach of a curfew condition to be in his residence between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Although sentenced to 17 months in jail, Fick was given credit for six and a half months spent in pre-trial custody, leaving him with 10 and a half months to serve. He is also prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years and he must submit a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Databank.
Calgary lawyer Andre Ouellette, who had recommended a jail sentence of 15 months, pointed out Fick has suffered with “long term” addictions and has associated with friends in Lethbridge who have had a negative influence on his life. He has decided, however, to move to Fort McMurry to be closer to his family.

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