ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Prosecutor Jennifer Colford moved one stack of file folders aside on the desk in front of her in the courtroom Monday morning, then reached over and lifted another out of her case, setting it down in front of her and opening the first folder with a sigh.
It took her two hours to read aloud from the folders the details of Devon Hart’s crimes from last August until he was arrested in November. There were more than 55 of them in total.
Breaking into cars, using stolen debit cards, cashing fake cheques, breaking into apartment buildings and stealing the coins from the washers and dryers, stealing liquor and cartons of cigarettes from stores, stealing a woman’s purse, swiping Remembrance Day poppy donation cans and eventually stealing a vehicle from a gas station in Clarenville and driving it to St. John’s — Hart spent last fall on a crime spree and on Monday it earned him a six-year prison sentence.
Hart, 29, sat silently through Colford’s reading of the facts, appearing on a TV screen from prison, where he has been held since his arrest. His only address to the court was brief.
“My mother passed away at the end of July and I started using drugs heavily due to my mom’s passing,” he told Judge David Orr. “I accumulated all these charges over a significant period of time, but I take full responsibility for my actions and I’m sorry.”
The period of time was perhaps not that significant for the vast number of charges: three months from start to finish.
Hart’s string of crimes began in August with vehicle break-ins. In one, Hart stole a wallet and used the debit card inside to make a series of small purchases; in another, the vehicle owner caught him in the vehicle. Hart told him he was looking for change.
"I started using drugs heavily due to my mom’s passing. I accumulated all these charges over a significant period of time, but I take full responsibility for my actions and I’m sorry.” — Devon Hart
From there, Hart was caught breaking into apartment buildings on Freshwater Road multiple times, gaining access to the laundry rooms and using a makeshift tool to empty the washers and dryers of coins. In one case he fled on a bicycle and refused to stop for police, who arrested him when he lost control of the bike and fell off.
There were two instances when Hart deposited fake cheques into bank accounts that weren’t his and withdrew the money right away, and an incident in which he stole a woman’s purse from the table at which she was eating in the deli of a local supermarket.
There were multiple incidences of Hart robbing cartons of cigarettes — two cartons each time — from convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops, including one at a Freshwater Road Circle K.
Hart jumped over the counter and grabbed the cigarettes before the clerk chased him with a crowbar.
During a robbery of an ESSO station in St. John’s, Hart told the clerk, “Give me a few packs of cigarettes and some chocolate bars and call the cops on me.” He then pushed the woman and told her, “Tell them I threatened you.” The woman knew Hart as a frequent customer of the store and was able to give police his name.
There were a number of times when Hart and another man stole hundreds of dollars' worth of rum and vodka from stores, sometimes bringing their own reusable shopping bags for the purpose. Other times they simply picked up cases of alcohol and walked out. In one incident, Hart held up a knife at the store clerk as he boarded his getaway vehicle, saying, “I just got out of prison.”
When he stole the Remembrance Day poppy donation can from a Tim Hortons in November, Hart told the coffee shop employees, “You’re lucky I don’t rob you.” It wasn’t the only donation can he stole: he took a donation box for Heavenly Creatures animal rescue from a convenience store the same week, as well as another charity can from the counter of a Tim Hortons outlet in Clarenville.
In the latter case, a description of the getaway vehicle was given to police, who located it on the highway. Officers found the donation can in the car and Hart — who gave them a false name, which they didn’t discover was fake until the next day — was taken into custody.
When he was released the following morning after signing a recognizance with his fake identity, Hart asked police for a ride to St. John’s. After they declined, he told them he would rob someone to get back to St. John’s if he had to. RCMP officers dropped Hart off at an Irving gas station after he calmed down, advising him to try getting a bus or a taxi.
“He’s got to do something. If he doesn’t get a handle on it, he’s just going to end up having to spend longer and longer periods of time (in jail) and that’s not going to go anybody any good." — Prosecutor Jennifer Colford
Instead, Hart stole a car from the gas station parking lot while the owners were inside the store. He made his way back to St. John’s, driving dangerously and refusing to stop for police, hitting two other cars as he attempted to pass them on the highway.
Colford and defence lawyer Michelle Elliott filed a joint submission for six years in prison minus time served for Hart, who has earned a year of remand time on enhanced credit. Colford acknowledged Hart has a criminal record that includes robberies with weapons while wearing a mask.
“In one respect, I guess (the current robberies) aren’t as bad as that,” she told the judge.
If Hart hadn’t admitted his guilt to the offences, his trial would have taken the court at least a month, she said.
She said Hart had previously indicated he had drug addictions issues.
“He’s got to do something. If he doesn’t get a handle on it, he’s just going to end up having to spend longer and longer periods of time (in jail) and that’s not going to go anybody any good,” Colford said.
Elliott said her client wants to avail of addictions counselling while in prison.
Orr accepted the lawyers’ joint submission, though he said he found it somewhat lenient. In addition to jail time, he sentenced Hart to a lifetime firearms ban and a five-year driving prohibition and ordered him to submit a DNA sample to a police database.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
