A Wallaceburg man with a long criminal record has been convicted again and sentenced to more time behind bars.
Michael Authier, 38, was sentenced to 40 months behind bars less enhanced time already served after pleading guilty in Chatham court on Wednesday to possessing a prohibited firearm, possession of methamphetamine, breaching a court-ordered ban on weapons, and breaching his bail conditions. He also pleaded guilty to stealing a trailer, but has made $3,500 in restitution.
Authier was given credit for hardship while he was in custody at the jail in Windsor because of lock downs and crowded conditions and still has 27 months left to serve in a penitentiary.
The court was told that Authier was stopped by Chatham-Kent police with a .22 calibre rifle with a sawed-off barrel under his vehicle's seat, along with ammunition, and three clear bags of suspected methamphetamine, one "in plain sight" on the centre console, the other under the passenger's seat, and the third in his pocket.
The charges stem from a traffic stop on January 23, 2024.
Authier was ordered by the court on November 29, 2023 before he was released on bail to live with his surety in Wallaceburg, his sister who also takes care of his two children, and to stay in the home at all times except for medical emergencies. His sister has now lost all of the bail money she put up to release him from jail while he waited for his court proceedings because of the breaches.
The Crown said Chatham-Kent police received an anonymous tip saying Authier was breaching his bail conditions to visit an address on Lafontaine Street in Wallaceburg where he was previously arrested in July 2021 for drug possession and later convicted in January 2023.
Authier's lawyer also told the court during a joint submission with the Crown that his client has an undiagnosed mental health issue, has a drug addiction issue, that he is heavily medicated to the point of being almost unrecognizable, and that he should see a psychiatrist. The court heard Authier was born with a "cognitive condition" that he has never overcome.
The Crown said the breach of the release orders was "blatant" and that Authier has breached court orders and conditions repeatedly in the past.
He also noted there's no purpose to driving around with a prohibited sawed-off shotgun unless it's to commit a crime.
The judge said she was surprised by Authier's new crimes considering the amount of time he has already spent behind bars.
Authier is now under a lifetime weapons ban, was ordered to forfeit the confiscated rifle and the drugs, and must provide a DNA sample.
Authier was also ordered by the court to have no contact with the tipster, his children's mother, while he's in custody, unless a family court states otherwise.
The judge urged Authier to turn his life around because he has a family who loves him very much and children who depend on him.