Defense counsel says the client was very distressed after losing a family member.
Daniel Purvis will spend 60 days under house arrest for crimes against his relatives.
Sault Ste., 38. Marie’s husband pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of an incident on Lake Lower Island on December 10, 2021.
He was charged with intrusion into a felony, but the Crown accepted a conviction for the misdemeanor offense for less than $ 5,000.
In addition, he was convicted of possession of stolen property of less than $ 5,000.
Ontario Court Judge Heather Mendes learned that Ontario Provincial Police had received a call about a man approaching a Brooks Road resident.
The man told the caller that his vehicle was stuck on a nearby bridge and that he needed help towing it.
The caller noted that Purvis Marine was next to the vehicle and officers learned it had been reported as theft.
Police contacted the owner.
He suggested that his cousin Daniel, who had drug problems and had caused them problems in the past, could be involved, Crown lawyer Blair Hagan told the court.
Officers followed the new footprints in the snow from the scene to a camp, which was owned by another cousin of the defendant.
The front door glass had broken.
Purvis was arrested and taken to Sault Area Hospital, where he was detained on mental health grounds.
Defense attorney Eric McCooeye told the court his client was very distressed after losing a relative.
He couldn’t sleep and had “ideas” that would “end it all.”
Purvis did not perform, has been receiving medical care and is on drugs.
McCooeye said his client has found a job, which “has been fundamental.”
“He’s doing very well compared to that night” when “he was in a mood where he wasn’t able to process what he was doing.”
He has “a lot of remorse,” the lawyer said, and understands what he has done and “is trying another way.”
Due to their criminal record, the Crown and the defense jointly recommended a conditional prison sentence, which will be served in the community.
Purvis has remorse and his struggles with mental health issues have been taken into account, Hagan said.
“I’ve come a long way,” Purvis told the judge.
Mendes accepted the joint presentation, calling it “an appropriate and fair phrase” and “brief but sharp.”
During his conditional sentence, Purvis will have a curfew from 9 a.m. to 7 a.m. and cannot have contact with the complainants and must move away from the camp.
He will be on probation for 12 months after serving his sentence.