Man with lengthy criminal record sentenced for more offences
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on December 8, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A 27-year-old southern Alberta man who has already racked up 40 criminal convictions in the last nine years, has added eight more convictions to his record.Shawn Samuel Fralick pleaded guilty Thursday in Lethbridge court of justice to three charges of driving while prohibited, and single counts of obstructing a peace officer, possession of an unauthorized licence plate, failing to comply with probation, using a stolen credit card, and possession of stolen property.
He was sentenced to five and a half months in jail, but credited for time spent in pre-trial custody, leaving him with 37 days to serve. He was fined $300 for displaying the unauthorized licence plate, but he chose to serve the default time in jail, which will run concurrent with his other sentences, and he was prohibited from driving for three years.
Court was told that on Aug. 6 of this year a police officer queried the licence plate of a silver vehicle parked in front of a Taber residence and learned the plate was registered to a blue Honda Civic. The vehicle left the residence sometime later and drove past a second officer who noted that two men were in the car and conducted a traffic stop.
“The vehicle stopped and both front doors opened and two males exited and tried to leave,” Crown Prosecutor Rachel Poelzer said.
The officer detained the men, however, and during the subsequent interaction, Fralick repeatedly gave the officer a false name before finally identifying himself. At the time Fralick was on a Canada-wide driving prohibition and was a suspended driver in Alberta.
Less than a week later a man called police to report a GMC Blazer was driving around in Stirling with stolen items. Fralick, who was driving the vehicle with a female passenger, was charged again for driving while prohibited.
Later the same month, a man called the Milk River RCMP to report that his wallet had been stolen overnight from his truck. He noticed several transactions worth $230 had been made on two of his bank cards. One of those transactions occurred at a gas station where video surveillance identified a vehicle driven by Fralick, who was still prohibited from driving and bound by a probation order to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
Margaret Morse, student at law, told court Fralick was raised in foster care after he was abandoned by his mother, who died only last year, and he started using drugs and alcohol when he was 10 years old, eventually moving on to harder drugs and becoming addicted to methamphetamine. He also suffers from mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.
“He’s eager to try and get his life back on track,” Morse said. “He is remorseful…and takes full responsibility for these offences.” Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
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