Man gets jail for break-ins; sentence complete due to time in remand
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on November 4, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com Breaking into a couple of Lethbridge businesses within about 30 minutes of each other has netted a 35-year-old man a jail sentence.Delray Charles Cross Child was sentenced to slightly more than seven months in jail after he pleaded guilty this week in Lethbridge court of justice to the pair of break-ins, along with unrelated charges of possession of stolen property over $5,000, theft under $5,000 and failure to comply with release conditions. He was, however, credited for time he already spent in remand custody on the charges, which completes his sentence.
At about 2:10 a.m. on May 17 of this year, Cross Child took a piece of rebar and threw it at a window in the CASA Community Arts Centre on 8 Street downtown. The break-in was discovered after employees arrived at work later in the morning, and video footage showed a man throwing the rebar at a door window, then reaching in and unlocking the door.
“The male then went inside for about 20 minutes before exiting out of another door,” Crown Prosecutor Robert Morrison told court.
The description of the suspect, who stole a $1,700 laptop, matched the description of a man who broke into EB Games in the Park Place Mall about 30 minutes later.
Police were alerted to the break-in at EB Games when the alarm was triggered shortly after 2:30 a.m. Police discovered a smashed window, but no one was found inside. Video surveillance footage showed a man walking toward the store from Galt Gardens, breaking the window, then clearing glass out of the way before entering. He was seen leaving less than a minute later. About $200 had been taken from the cash register.
Police found Cross Child shortly afterward sitting on a bench in Galt Gardens. He was arrested then released shortly afterward for the break-in to the game store. When police later reviewed surveillance footage from the arts centre, they realized Cross Child was the culprit in that break-in, and he was arrested again. Cross Child had $200 on him, but the laptop taken from the arts centre was not recovered.
“Mr. Cross Child, when he was arrested for that offence, wasn’t able to provide any information about the location of the laptop,” Morrison said.
Cross Child was also sentenced for possessing a minivan that had been stolen from a residence on the morning of Nov. 30, 2022.
The homeowner told police the keys to two vehicles had been left on her piano bench, and the keys and both vehicles were stolen.
Later that night police patrolling through the Real Canadian Superstore parking lot on Mayor Magrath Drive saw the minivan and a man leafing through paperwork in the glovebox. Police arrested the man as he exited the vehicle and he told them he didn’t know the vehicle had been stolen, but had ridden to the store with a man wearing a red jacket.
Shortly afterward police saw Cross Child and a woman leave the store, and Cross Child was arrested. Cross Child told police he had been released from jail at 3:30 that afternoon, and claimed he didn’t know the vehicle was stolen. He said he found the keys on the ground in the parking lot shortly before he was arrested.
The other man, however, said Cross Child had driven the vehicle from a westside residence. Cross Child was charged, then released on an undertaking.
On Dec. 3 Cross Child was involved in an altercation downtown in which he was accused of theft. A man told police his roommate had allowed Cross Child to stay at their house the previous night, and when he awoke in the morning he noticed two pairs of his shoes, some watches, and a BMX bike had been stolen.
As he walked out of his garage where he had left his bike, he saw Cross Child riding off on it, but was unable to catch him. Later in the day he saw Cross Child with the bike downtown, confronted him and noticed Cross Child was wearing one of the pairs of stolen shoes.
Lethbridge lawyer Cara Lebenzon, who, with the crown jointly recommended the 218-day jail sentence, said Cross Child’s father died about 10 years ago, which coincides with his criminal record.
“If you look at his record, the heaviest offending occurs in that time period, starting when his dad passed away,” Lebenzon said. “He discussed with me how difficult that grief and loss has been on him, and it’s certainly the root cause for his addiction to opiates, as well as crystal meth, which forms the basis for these property offences.”
Lebenzon said she has seen a significant change in her client since he has been in custody and since she started assisting him, and he is self-motivated to receive treatment and help for his addictions. Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
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