GRASS PUTS MAN ON WRONG SIDE OF THE LAW, AGAIN

A luckless Gracefield man who wanted to maintain a tidy yard while
serving an 18-month sentence under house arrest has been jailed for
seven days for mowing his lawn and not answering telephone calls from
correctional services officers.

Paul-Emile Menard was supposed to be serving the first six months of
his conditional sentence -- handed down for possession of 10 kilograms
of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking -- inside his house, 24
hours a day.

But by July 20, Mr. Menard's lawn had become long and scruffy, so he
decided to mow it. While he was outside, he missed two phone calls
from Quebec correctional services officers.

The officers went to Mr. Menard's house to see if he was still at home
and found him operating his lawnmower. Mr. Menard, 40, was charged
with breach of a conditional sentence when he again failed to answer a
scheduled telephone check on July 29.

Mr. Menard's lawyer, Michel Swanston, said his client didn't believe
he needed permission to go outside to mow his lawn because the court
had allowed him to cut grass for his sister who lives nearby.

Mr. Swanston said Judge Real Lapointe sent his client to jail for
seven days until he decides on a sentence next Wednesday.