Skip to content

Man sentenced for break-ins had already spent 674 days behind bars

Elliot Lake incidents took place in late 2021
general_time_travel_notext
Stock image

In the fall of 2021, Dale Boyer broke into two homes on the same street on the same day in Elliot Lake.

His spoils from these burglaries — a jewellery box containing a necklace and a Toronto Blue Jays memorabilia bat.

Boyer, 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of break and enter to commit the indictable offence of theft, stemming from his actions on Sept. 15, 2021.

He also was convicted of a third break-in, where he made off with five or six rolls of $2 coins, on Oct. 24 of the same year.

During his appearance in the Superior Court of Justice in Sault Ste. Marie, he also admitted he was guilty of possessing a stolen credit card, and four counts of breaching court orders.

Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau heard Ontario Provincial Police officers responded to a call about a Sept.15 break-in on Taylor Boulevard.

The intruder kicked in a side door, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m, and stole a jewellery box from a bedroom.

He dropped the box on the sidewalk as he ran away.

His actions were captured on video, assistant Crown attorney Simran Singh said.

Boyer then kicked in a rear window at house located further down the street.

He went into a bedroom and took the bat from a closet,

Again, he was caught on camera as he left the residence.

He put the bat in a trash can, Singh told the court.

On Oct. 24, a woman contacted police at 3:44 a.m. about a break-in on Washington Crescent.

Boyer, who had removed a window screen to get inside the home, was spotted as he left the residence.

At the time of the three burglaries he was on a two-year probation order with conditions that include a requirement that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

The credit card offence occurred on Aug. 31, 2021.

Officers responded to a 911 call about suspicious activity at an Esso gas station in Elliot Lake.

They stopped a vehicle with four occupants.

Boyer, an unlicensed driver, was behind the wheel and was arrested, along with two others.

Surveillance cameras at the store showed he used a stolen credit card to pay for gas and other purchases.

The Crown and defence lawyer Bruce Willson jointly recommended Boyer, who has been in custody since October 2021, receive a sentence of one day plus time served.

The accused has spent 674 days in pre-sentence custody, Singh said

With the enhanced credit of 1.5 days for each day he has been in jail, the sentence is the equivalent 1,011 days.

"This is over three years," Willson noted.

There were triable issues, he told the judge, suggesting the Crown case wasn't very strong regarding identity and his client has pleaded guilty.

Not a lot of property was taken, and Boyer was incarcerated during COVID-19 — a time when there were a lot of lockdowns at the jail, Willson said.

His client is from Serpent River First Nation, but the defence isn't seeking a Gladue report.

These things "all drive this joint submission," he said.

Describing the proposed sentence as in the range, Gareau said he was accepting the joint submission.

He cited the guilty pleas, the accused's background and what appeared to be triable issues when he imposed sentence.

"Given the amount of pre-sentence custody it is not insignificant."

Boyer must provide a DNA sample for the national registry and must stay from five complainants.

Gareau also placed him on a lifetime weapons prohibition.



About the Author: Linda Richardson

Linda Richardson is a freelance journalist who has been covering Sault Ste. Marie's courts and other local news for more than 45 years.
Read more