A New Westminster man who stole an iPad from a woman in a wheelchair last May has lost his appeal of his 12-month jail sentence.
David Clayton Thomas Ned, 33, was sentenced in B.C. Provincial Court in Vancouver in February after pleading guilty to a charge of theft under $5,000. He was given credit for the more than six months he spent in jail awaiting trial and had five months of his sentence left to serve, followed by two years of probation.
Ned appealed his sentence, arguing that it was unfit.
On May 10, 2012, Ned stole an iPad from the wheelchair of Cassie Campbell, a woman in her mid-20s who suffers from cerebral palsy and is unable to speak or hear, as she waited to board an elevator on the platform at the Metrotown SkyTrain station.
Ned tried to escape but Campbell followed him, confronted him in front of other passengers and blocked him with her wheelchair.
A man who was travelling with Ned, John Eugene Lagimodiere, assaulted Campbell as he tried to help Ned get away. Campbell sustained injuries to her neck and arms from Lagimodiere and a minor cut from her interaction with Ned.
Bystanders chased Ned and Lagimodiere but were unable to catch them. The men sold the iPad and used the money to buy drugs.
The men were arrested about a week after the incident. A Good Samaritan bought Campbell a new iPad after hearing about her story.
Lagimodiere pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to one day in jail followed by two years of probation. He had spent 113 days in custody before sentencing.
Ned's lawyer argued on appeal that Ned's sentence should have been similar to Lagimodiere's.
Although both men are of Aboriginal heritage and faced similar difficulties during their childhoods, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Christopher Hinkson wrote in a decision released Thursday that "all else is not equal as between the two men, nor is their moral culpability equal for their offences."
Ned instigated the theft, he had a more serious criminal record and Ned's guilty plea came late and did not spare Campbell from testifying at his trial.
Ned's lawyer suggested that the range of sentence should have been between a conditional sentence and six months in jail. Hinkson disagreed, pointing out that Ned had breached conditional sentences in the past. He also said he did not believe six months was the upper end of the range for Ned, considering the circumstances.
"I am unable to say that [the sentencing judge] erred in his approach, and do not consider that the sentence imposed was, in the circumstances, unfit," Hinkson wrote.
