A woman was handed a global federal sentence after pleading guilty to a long list of charges.
Christina Laliberte, 37, appeared in provincial court in Drumheller on Friday, May 14, to plead guilty to a string of charges that included violence and property-related charges.
The court heard that on August 18, 2020, she had broken into the home of a person known to her and stole a cooler containing $200-$300 worth of coins. She was caught on security video.
On September 23, 2020, she assaulted a person known to her by throwing a vase at him, causing stitches. She was charged with assault and released. On October 21, 2020, she was in his company at Walmart when she was supposed to not be in contact with the named individual.
On December 6, 2020, she entered the Canadian Tire in Drumheller, donned a pair of boots worth $128, and left. When the store learned of the loss, they reviewed security cameras to confirm the crime.
On December 23, 2020, Laliberte was arrested in another investigation, when police found her in possession of a credit card that did not belong to her.
She also pleaded guilty to mischief, possession of fentanyl, and assault stemming from events that occurred on January 20, 2021. She attended to the Extra Foods in Drumheller and took a cart of groceries into the bathroom. She opened many of the containers, and due to COVID-19, these products were contaminated. Laliberte was arrested and placed in cells at the RCMP detachment. She was able to secret a lighter, fentanyl, and a pipe into the cell. She smoked the drugs and overdosed. She was given Narcan and taken to the Drumheller Health Centre. She had to be restrained and in the struggle bit a nurse.
She also pleaded guilty to several breaches, including not reporting to probation or attending for counselling.
The court heard Laliberte, 37, at one time worked as a welder in Drumheller. She left for Saskatchewan, lost her welding licence, and became addicted to alcohol. While she was able to shake her alcohol addictions about 10 years ago, she fell into the drug scene, and after an injury, began to self-medicate with opioids and fell in with a bad crowd. Prior to her appearance in court, she had been taking steps to deal with her addiction issues.
Judge Gashler agreed with a joint submission from the crown and defence for a two-year sentence, not taking into account her pretrial time in custody.
