Sarnia home invasion suspect approved for bail
A Sarnia man charged after police said two people were allegedly threatened by a suspect with a hammer during a home invasion has been approved for bail.
Article content
A Sarnia man charged after police said two people were allegedly threatened by a suspect with a hammer during a home invasion has been approved for bail.
Sarnia police previously said a suspect broke into an Afton Drive home shortly after 4:30 a.m. Oct. 22, demanded valuables from two adult occupants while threatening them with a hammer, then fled. No one was hurt, said police, who arrested a suspect a short time later.
The incident, at least the third Sarnia home invasion in recent months, prompted police Chief Derek Davis to speak out on social media. “Armed offenders breaking into occupied residences (equals) serious public safety concerns,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The chief also praised frontline officers for the quick arrest and pointed out the suspect was turned over to the courts for a bail hearing.
Dan Plain, 33, of Sarnia, faces 11 charges, including two counts each of robbery with a weapon, assault with a weapon, uttering threats and breaching probation, and single counts of breaking and entering, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and wearing a disguise with intent.
His bail hearing was held this past Friday.
“A very disturbing set of allegations before the court,” justice of the peace Kelly Jackson said during the hearing, which wasn’t covered by a publication ban.
Jackson granted Plain bail that day, but his plan, featuring a $750 pledge, was deemed “set not met” as he had to meet certain criteria before being released from the Sarnia Jail. It’s unclear if he had met those conditions as of Wednesday.
When he is released, he’s forbidden to contact or come within 25 metres of the complainants, Steve Garbe and Shannon Shepherd, court heard.
Plain also is barred from having weapons and break-in tools and will live either at a home on Aamjiwnaang First Nation or in a residential treatment centre. Plain’s past struggles with drug addiction and his prior criminal record were the focus of his bail hearing.
Jackson called his criminal record unenviable, but noted there was a 10-year gap when he was living a sober lifestyle. That’s changed over the last two years, she noted.
“His convictions for 2022 and 2023 are fast and many and they are of the nature of property-related offences and they look like they could be possibly drug-motivated,” she said.
That was what the court heard about two months ago after Plain pleaded guilty to two counts of theft worth less than $5,000 – he stole a Nintendo Switch from the Real Canadian Superstore and power tools from the London Road Home Hardware – along with single counts of failing to comply with probation and breaking and entering and committing theft. The latter conviction was linked to power tools taken from a north Sarnia construction site.
Plain was sentenced Sept. 6 to just shy of six months time served and ordered to pay nearly $500 in restitution to Home Hardware. Defence lawyer Terry Brandon said at the time her client has struggled with addictions to crystal meth and fentanyl, but she was astonished how physically healthy he looked after several months in the Stratford Jail.
Plain’s latest set of charges, which haven’t been tested in court, were adjourned to Nov. 20.
The previous Sarnia home invasions took place in July on Earlscourt Drive, though a suspect wasn’t arrested until September, and in late August on Napier Street.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.