Conor Nechiporenko, 31, pleaded guilty to 15 charges in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Tuesday and was sentenced to 13 months in jail.
The sentence was a joint submission from Legal Aid lawyer Suzanne Lalonde and Provincial Crown Prosecutor Rob Parker.
The charges Nechiporenko pleaded guilty to included four counts of theft under $5,000, four counts of failing to attend court, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime, and one count each of failing to report to a probation officer, breaching curfew, assault, assault with a weapon, and breach of conditions.
As part of the plea deal, the Crown stayed charges including five counts of failing to attend court, two charges of breaching curfew, and one charge each of being unlawfully in a dwelling-house, uttering threats, breaching a release order, and obstructing a peace officer.
The charges stem back to Aug. 30, 2023, when Nechiporenko was caught on surveillance video stealing vodka from the liquor store. He was later charged with failing to attend court on that matter.
On Jan. 23, police located a 2006 Toyota Corolla that was reported stolen. Nechiporenko admitted to police that he was in possession of the vehicle but denied stealing it.
Nechiporenko was on an undertaking on Jan. 24 to report to a probation officer. He failed to show up for a meeting. He received notice of failing to report on March 12 and failed to report, leading to charges being laid.
In February, video surveillance showed Nechiporenko walking out of Mark’s Work Warehouse with a pair of sneakers without paying.
On April 29, Nechiporenko was caught on video surveillance taking between $200 and $250 worth of items from Superstore without paying.
That same day, he used a victim’s cell phone to make four separate e-transfers from the victim’s bank account totalling $2,400.
On July 3, police attended a residence to perform a curfew check on Nechiporenko. The person who answered the door informed the officer that he wasn’t home. The officer was invited into the house and a search confirmed he wasn’t home.
Police then received a report on Aug. 26 of a man and woman fighting near the Moose Jaw Public Library. A witness gave an audio statement saying the woman was trying to fight back but was punched in the head at least three times by Nechiporenko.
On Sept. 19, Regina police followed a vehicle reported stolen from Moose Jaw in which Nechiporenko was the driver. He also had two failures to appear in court on this matter.
Then on Aug. 27, police were called to an altercation at Bugsy’s where police found Nechiporenko waving a knife at the victim. He was also in breach of conditions at the time.
Parker told the court that Nechiporenko had applied for Drug Treatment Court but was unable to make it through the assessment phase.
“That left us with the task of what sentence we would be looking at now,” Parker said.
Parker said the submission was for a global sentence of 13 months with a mandatory DNA order and a forfeiture order for the knife.
In her submissions, Lalonde said there were Gladue factors as Nechiporenko is a Métis man who spent two years in the foster care system until he was adopted by his grandparents.
Lalonde admitted to Nechiporenko’s previous criminal record but said the assaults are the first violent offences on his record.
“It is very out of character for him,” Lalonde told the court.
Judge David Chow asked Nechiporenko, who appeared via video from the Regina Correctional Centre, if he would like to address the court.
“I would like to get this dealt with and my problems dealt with and get on with my life,” Nechiporenko said.
Chow followed the joint submission, saying that in his dealings with Nechiporenko in Drug Treatment Court, he felt he was sincere in wanting to turn his life around.
Nechiporenko had already served 148 days and was given enhanced credit for 222 days, leaving him 168 days left to serve.