Man with 99 convictions banned from Sault for three years

John Wigle is persona non grata in Sault Ste. Marie and areas north of the city for the next three years.

The 63-year-old's repeated threats to an Aweres Township neighbour and failure to follow a court order last summer landed him in court Tuesday.

He pleaded guilty to the charges, and Ontario Court Justice Heather Mendes imposed a jointly recommended suspended sentence, with a 36-month probation order designed to keep him away from the victims and the area.

Wigle was involved in an ongoing dispute with a neighbour, and on June 19 was placed on probation following a conviction for criminal harassment.

On July 3, the woman contacted the Ontario Provincial Police and sent them a video showing the accused walking back and forth in front of her Hiltz Road home.

The complainant and her family were outside on a nice day, assistant Crown attorney Trent Wilson said.

Wigle stopped and "flipped her the finger," then walked by again making noises.

"He clapped his hands," the prosecutor told the court, saying: "click, click, boom."

The threats related to phone calls he made to the cops, where in a profanity-laced tirade he threatened: "If you people are not going to do something I'll do something .... they will be done by 6 a.m."

Wigle then warned "if you don't deal with this tonight they won't be here in the morning."

When Mendes asked the self-represented accused if he agreed this is what happened, he responded: "I assume yes."

The court heard Wigle has a 16-page criminal record, including 99 "problematic" convictions, including 12 for assault, aggravated assault, assaulting police, and two prior convictions for criminal harassment and several crimes of dishonesty. 

"You name it,"  Wilson said. "It's an outstanding record" of criminal anti-social behaviour.

The last two entries in his record relate to the same kind of issues with the neighbour and her family.

Wigle was sentenced to 30 days jail in April 2022 but that didn't stop him, the prosecutor said.

"Almost immediately after he can't leave well enough alone" and is back at it.

Wigle pointed to a gap in his record, telling the judge: "I had no contact with the police or jail between 2009 and 2021."

He also told Mendes he has sold his Heyden home and is residing in Sudbury.

Wilson described the proposed sentence as the low end of the scale.

"He's assured us he's moved out of town and we're taking him at his word that he has purchased property in Sudbury."

Wilson said the Crown is doing this with some trepidation because in January Wigle indicated he had moved to southern Ontario. 

Prior to that, Wigle said he had relocated to Alberta.

In January, he also was spotted in this area, Wilson told the court.

"We're taking him at his word. He's assured us he just wants to live his life and clear things up." 

Wigle has a history of non-compliance, he noted.

If his talk of moving to Sudbury "is a ruse, he will be facing a jail sentence if he doesn't leave these people alone," the Crown warned.

The accused, who appeared in court via Zoom, insisted he's living in Sudbury.

"I have no intention whatsoever of returning to Aweres or Sault Ste. Marie," he told the court.

"I don't give a crap about her (the neighbour), her husband and her family. I just want to be left alone and live my life." 

Mendes accepted the joint position, calling it "a very, very lenient sentence considering the circumstances and record."

There is a gap in the record, but there are charges as recent as last year, she said.

During his probation, which is being transferred to Sudbury, Wigle must take any recommended counselling.

He is to have no contact with the victim, must not be within 100 metres of her and is not to go to Hiltz Road.

Wigle also must stay away from the Sault, Aweres and the unorganized townships.