STAYING DRUG-FREE EARNS MAN JAIL-FREE SENTENCE

Despite pleading guilty to assaulting a teenaged boy and attempting
to force beer down the child's throat, as well as five other charges
of theft and breach of a court order, Ade Martin will not be going to
jail.

Instead, provincial court judge Fred Ferguson gave the 28-year old
former drug addict a two-year suspended sentence, plus probation,
during which he would face doubly severe charges if he is caught
indulging in illicit drug use.

Ferguson said in most cases a breach of a court order would guarantee
jail time in his court. But, he added, he makes exceptions for those
who prove they are on the path to recovery.

On Jan. 28, Martin walked into a liquor store and stole a $12 1.5
litre bottle of sherry. A still picture taken from the store's
security camera clearly identified Martin.

The same day, he drove to Bathurst where he was caught stealing CDs
from Wal-Mart. When the security guard followed him outside and
confronted him, Martin refused to return inside, saying he needed to
go to an ATM and would return to pay for the merchandise later. The
cost of the CDs was roughly $30.

Sitting on a picnic table on Sunnyside Avenue, he called to three
boys out on their bikes. One boy, 14 years old, approached Martin and
Martin tried to pour beer into the boy's mouth.

According to police reports, the boy pushed Martin away and tried to
run, but Martin hit him and threw him from his bicycle as he tried to
get on it. The boy ran to his home down the street, where his mother
called the police.

Crown prosecutor Bannon Morrisey dropped one charge of breaching
probation because the court did not obtain Martin's Canadian-wide
record -- only his New Brunswick record -- and was unable to discern
just when his probation actually ended.

"It's probably in your favour they didn't look up your Canadian
record, because I get the feeling it's quite extensive."

Duty Counsel Melanie MacAuley told the court Martin finally got onto
the methadone program after a long battle with drug addiction. His
girlfriend, who sat in the courtroom with him, is also on the program
and MacAuley said all his urine tests have come back clean.

She said he relapsed due to the stress of discovering his girlfriend
is pregnant.

"I made some mistakes," said Martin to the court. "I just want to get
this anchor off of me. I had a little scare with the new baby, but I
realized I have a good woman. I want to thank the good people at the
methadone clinic.

"I'm trying to get my life on track and I'm looking for a little
leniency. I want a clean slate so I will deal with whatever the court
imposes."

Responded Ferguson, "Ordinarily, your conduct to the young man would
show you can't be trusted with court orders. But you've had no dirty
urine tests for the last 30 days, you're part of the construction
union; you are much more valuable in the community than in jail."

As Martin left the court room, he thanked MacAuley for her work on
his file.

"I will retire, but not in the next two years -- so you are on my
watch," said Ferguson.

Ferguson ordered Martin to pay victim surcharges for each of his
convictions, a total of $300.