Cell phone theft was brazen, judge tells thief while convicting him

Harradence said the amount of force the staff member used to restrain Ebach was reasonable, and self-defence is not a reason for Ebach to resist being detained.

He found that Ebach used a weapon and was carrying bullets when he stole the phone but reduced a robbery charge to theft as the physical violence happened after the theft. Ebach was convicted of assault with a weapon.

“You had a weapon on you, and you had ammunition on you which can lead to no good,” said Harradence.

He agreed to a joint sentence submission from the Crown and Defense that Ebach’s time in custody of 357 days (equal to 535 days of enhanced credit) was sufficient, gave him a 10-year weapons ban and required him to submit a DNA sample to the national database.

He also discussed Ebach’s lengthy record – which includes other convictions for theft and assault – as future convictions would likely have stronger sentences.

“You are going to have to dedicate yourself to do whatever it takes to stay out of jail,” Harradence said. “Make no mistake, if you come back here, you’ll be dealt with according to the law and you may not like that.”

Ebach also has a one-year probation order and was told to take anger management and counselling courses. He is not to go near Northern Mobile or the clerk.

He took the opportunity to say he was sorry for his actions.

“I’m sorry about this. My drug addiction has led to very bad decisions. This isn’t the type of father I ever pictured myself being,” he said.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by paNOW staff

Cell phone theft was brazen, judge tells thief while convicting him

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