Brad Natomagan was sentenced on Thursday at Prince Albert Provincial Court. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Repeated bike thief handed 60 day jail sentence

Jan 2, 2025 | 2:04 PM

A man responsible for breaking into two separate garages in Prince Albert and stealing bikes said he did it so he could make some money to live.

Brad Natomagan, 35, appeared Thursday morning at Prince Albert Provincial Court and received a 60 day sentence for the crimes that were committed less than three months apart. With credit for time spent in pre-sentence, the man from Pinehouse has 24 days remaining.

The first offence occurred on Sept. 20. The bike, which was stolen from a garage on Laurier Drive, was later located at a neighbour’s house.

A security camera recorded Natomagan in the act and when he was located by police the following morning, he was still wearing the same clothing which bore the image of a large white cross.

Natomagan was released on bail and then on Dec. 10 went to an address on 12th St. W. He was later found pushing a stolen bike down the street, and revealed to police there was a warrant out for his arrest.

BDO Debt Solutions

No Spend January Challenge

Jan 02, 2025

Year enders

Year in review: A look at Prince Albert's top stories of 2024

Jan 01, 2025

6'5" defencemen addition

Raiders acquire Fabrizi from Red Deer in exchange for Pederson

Dec 31, 2024

Noting Natomagan’s cooperation with police, prosecutor Gail Douglas said it was the Crown’s hope the jail time will send a message that going to people’s homes is not a good idea.

Defence lawyer Tara Hetherington revealed Natomagan has struggled with addictions issues, as well as homelessness, and stole the bikes with the intention of selling them and then using the money to get by.

“He knows that’s wrong to do,” she said.

Both bikes were returned to their rightful owners and Hetherington told the court, after release, Natomagan plans to seek out help for his addictions issues.

According to the most recent statistics provided by the Prince Albert Police Service, property crimes related to outbuildings were among the offences that saw a drop last year. For the period ending Nov. 30, there were 132 related reports. This compared to 147 for the same time period in 2023.

—

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell