SARNIA – A Sarnia judge told Edward Cuthbertson he upset the lives of several people through a series of crimes, including theft and fraud.
But illegally using a dead woman’s credit card was one crime that caught Justice Paul Kowalyshyn’s attention.
“Using the credit card of a person who is deceased, regardless of whether you knew that they were deceased or not, it doesn’t get a whole lot lower than that,” the judge said while sentencing him to 45 days in jail. “You should be embarrassed.”
The court heard Cuthbertson tried to use a Mastercard at the Russell Street North Home Hardware on Jan. 22, but the clerk seized it and called police after the card came back as old. Police learned it belonged to Andrea Bondy-Eddleston, a 48-year-old Sarnia woman who died in September.
That was one of several crimes to which Cuthbertson recently pleaded guilty, including two counts of unauthorized use of a credit card, fraud worth less than $5,000, possessing stolen property worth less than $5,000, theft worth less than $5,000, and three counts of breaching bail.
One incident took place in October, when a woman’s wallet was stolen from her car while it was parked on Queen Street and Cuthbertson was seen on a convenience store video surveillance using it. In April, a man’s suitcase was stolen from his car, parked in an alley near the Imperial Theatre. The man used an app to track his iPad, which led police to the suitcase and Cuthbertson at a Cobden Street house. Another man’s credit card was used at several locations after his car was broken into in May.
Defence lawyer James Guggisberg said his client, who had no prior criminal record, has dug deep into opioids, including fentanyl.
“I’m considerably concerned for his welfare,” he told the judge.
Kowalyshyn ordered Cuthbertson to repay what he stole and to stay away from several Sarnia locations. The judge also urged him to get himself cleaned up.
“Otherwise, you’re just going to be coming back here and back here again and the numbers are just going to go up, sir, as far as any jail sentence is concerned,” he said.