A Petrolia woman who tried to rob a donation bin near the Lambton OPP station has been sentenced to 75 days in jail for a number of charges.

Caylie White, 38, plead guilty to nine charges in Sarnia court on June 25 from three incidents that Justice Deborah Austin said were clearly linked to drug addiction.

The court heard how she was arrested in March last year for possession of methamphetamine, hydromorphone and cocaine, only to be re-arrested just three days later while out on bail while breaking into a donation bin at Shell 21 gas bar.

White’s problems started in December. She was found by officers driving in St. Clair Township with unvalidated plates. A search of the car found 25 grams of marijuana.

White was later arrested in the early hours of March 27 after being spotted by police driving along Confederation St. in Sarnia. She was on a curfew order in connection to outstanding charges of drug trafficking, and arrested for violating it.

An initial search revealed 1.7 grams of methamphetamine.

While in detention a female officer conducted a search of White, finding a baggie in her bra that contained a further 7.7 grams of meth, 39 mg of hydromorphone, and .5 grams of crack cocaine. The value of the drugs was estimated at just more than $1,100. The officer also found $280 in cash. 

White was released on bail but was back in jail just three days later following a break in to a donation bin. White and two other men were at the Shell 21 station March 30, when one of the men grabbed two donation bags and placed them in the trunk of White’s car as police officer from the Lambton OPP office across the road was watching.

The officer crossed the street and arrested White and the two men. All three had drugs on them. White had 2.64 grams of meth in her purse, while a search of her trunk turned up a further one pound bag of marijuana and stolen power tools. 

The Crown had asked for a 90 day sentence based on the large quantity of drugs she was found with and the frequency of the offenses. “It’s an appropriate message to send to Ms. White that she cannot continue to behave in this fashion. She needs to get her problem associated with methamphetamine under control,” says federal Crown attorney Michael Robb. 

White’s lawyer asked for a 60-day sentice saying she was in counselling and wants to find rehab services when she is out of jail.

Defense lawyer Sarah Donohue also pointed out that White will already face a stiff sentence in the likely loss of her employment as a personal support worker.

In the end Judge Austin sentenced her to 75 days. White will have 30 days left to serve with her credit for pre-sentence custody. 

“The escalation and repetition are what is clearly aggravating,” the judge says. “What is most encouraging to me… is to hear about the steps that you have begun to take with a treatment plan.”

“The fact that you are making those efforts and participating while you’re in custody to the extent that you can is… mitigating and should be given credit because your motivation to overcome this and leave this lifestyle behind is the most important predictor of a better outcome and a change away from this criminal lifestyle that you became embroiled in.”

“This is a sad sentencing because you come before the court as someone without a criminal record,” says Justice Austin. “I’ve heard… many positive attributes and steps that you’ve made in your life that now have been set back very dramatically and undermined by the drug addiction that overtook you.”