30 Days In Jail
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City man jailed for attempting to obstruct police
By JACK WALKER
Staff Writer
A 20-year-old city man who tipped off two suspects about an
impending drug takedown was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail for
attempting to obstruct police.
"I am satisfied this was more stupid than malevolent act, but it
was a significant act that calls for a period of incarceration," said
Ontario Court Justice Charles Anderson in sentencing Cory Mills. "You've
got to get it through your head that you can't behave in this way."
Anderson said everyone in the community, including police, have
the right go about their lawful activities without interference from
others, a lesson the accused hasn't learned.
Mills, of Apt. 14, 13 Glenn Wood Place, had earlier been
convicted of attempting to obstruct members of the Brockville Police
Service by informing the suspects they were under surveillance, thereby
putting the officers' safety at risk and jeopardizing the investigation.
The accused was listening to his police scanner last March 26
when he heard the OPP request the assistance of city police in keeping
watch on a silver Ford pickup from Quebec after it pulled off the 401
and made a quick stop at the 1000 Islands Mall.
The drug unit had been following the vehicle occupied by two
motorcycle gang members and OPP Constable Drew Knox had been instructed
to stop and search the truck.
When the silver pickup returned to the 401 so did Mills in a
green Civic driven by his girlfriend. Knox and Constable George Dickie
of the Brockville police followed behind.
At one point, the Civic caught up to the pickup. Mills rolled
down his window and warned the driver the cops were in pursuit and that
he was going to be pulled over.
Shortly after, the vehicle was safely stopped. No drugs were
found but police located a loaded handgun in the back of truck. During
the search Dickie spotted the green Civic, stopped on the other side of
the highway with the hood up and Mills looking into the engine
compartment.
Anderson said Mills had a history of not getting along with
police but that the best way to avoid contact was to stay away from
them.
"In our society, that is not a tricky thing to do," he said.
"All one has to do is abide by the minimum standard of conduct set out
in the criminal code."
Lawyer Rob Barr conceded his client had developed "an
irreverence bordering on mild resentment toward our local constabulary"
but said there was no suggestion he wanted to see anyone hurt as a
result of his actions.
He argued for a conditional sentence, noting Mills suffers from
acute anxiety and has other health issues.
Assistant Crown attorney Alan Findlay recommended a four- to
six-month jail term, saying Mills seems to believe "the police are there
for his entertainment."
When arrested on an earlier prowling at night charge, Mills was
carrying a list of names of members of the Brockville Police Service
along with their badge numbers, he said.
By warning the suspected drug dealers, Mills potentially put the
officers' lives at risk.
"Stopping vehicles is one of the most dangerous endeavours in
which they engage because you never who you are stopping or what's going
to happen," Findlay said.
The jail term will be followed by 18 months probation during
which Mills can't possess any device that would allow him to monitor
police activities. He's also not to contact police unless he has a
legitimate complaint.
* Published in Section A, page 3 in the Saturday, May 21, 2005
edition of the Brockville Recorder & Times.
* Posted 10:00:06 AM Saturday, May 21, 2005.
