Sentences total two years, eight months
A woman who had been living in an abandoned car is now in Fairbanks Prison following her guilty pleas to five burglaries at rooming houses in the George Town area.
Nathania Rachel Chollette, 26, was sentenced to two years, eight months’ imprisonment. She appeared in Grand Court in July for one of the offenses, which at the time was treated as an aggravated burglary. The other charges were dealt with last week in Summary Court.
Aggravated burglary is committed when a person possessing a weapon enters a premises as a trespasser with intent to commit an offense.
The court heard that Chollette entered a room at a premises on Greenwood Drive as a trespasser. When the resident of the premises challenged her, she pointed a knife at him and stabbed at him twice, but caused no injury.
Because the knife was subsequently shown to have been at the premises and not something Chollette had taken in with her, the offense was then treated as burglary and common assault. Justice Charles Quin imposed two years for the burglary and a further six months for the assault.
The other charges were dealt with at Summary Court, before Magistrate Valdis Foldats.
Defense attorney John Furniss noted that three of the other burglaries, which Chollette committed on April 18, had occurred within days of the Grand Court matter. He said Justice Quin was aware that Chollette had been living in a car. The attorney described all of the burglaries as opportunistic, occurring in areas where Chollette had hung around.
Crown counsel Candia James provided details of the offenses. The first one, on School Road in January, involved the theft of cash. Chollette maintained that the complainant had invited her to the premises for sex and then had refused to pay her.
The magistrate questioned the basis of her plea, but then Chollette said she had seen money on the man’s table; after he refused to pay her, she had re-entered the room and taken it. The re-entry without permission was an ingredient of burglary, so the plea was accepted.
On April 12, at a Greenwood Drive residence comprising several rooms, one of the tenants woke up and found that his pouch containing his hymn book and personal documents was missing. On the same day, at the same premises, a man returned home and saw a woman in his room standing at his dresser. He told her to leave and then checked his dresser, discovering that $200 was missing.
On April 16, a home on Kennedy Drive was broken into and $15 in coins was taken. Chollette admitted entering and stealing the money. Again she told police she had been invited in for sex.
In both instances, the complainants denied what she said.
When police subsequently searched the vehicle in which Chollette had been living, they found the stolen pouch with the hymn book. When interviewed, Chollette said, “I know I commit these crimes, but on my behalf, I’m homeless …”
The magistrate said her guilty pleas meant she was taking responsibility for her actions and he could therefore lower her sentence. He referred to social inquiry reports that painted a bleak picture of her early life, her use of drugs and alcohol from age 13, and her lack of job-related skills.
“Your offenses don’t show any respect for property or boundaries,” the magistrate told her.
For the burglary of the premises which she entered while the occupant was asleep, the magistrate imposed a term of 32 months. For the January burglary, the sentence was 24 months and for the other two April burglaries, the terms were 32 months. All are to run concurrent with each other and with the Grand Court sentence.
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