Nash Mills stalked, blackmailed, repeatedly threatened, assaulted and stole from a woman, a judge heard last week.
The 27-year-old Blind River man pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including extortion and criminal harassment, stemming from his behaviour during the past two years.
In addition to the offences involving the woman, he admitted he was guilty of other charges, including possession of stolen property and break-in instruments, break and enter, resisting police and failing to comply with court orders.
Mills appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom, via video from the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene, last Thursday.
Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek heard the woman had contacted the Ontario Provincial Police on June 1, 2022 about the theft of her cell phone.
She told the cops Mills had shown up at her residence early that morning and she had given him some food and water.
He grabbed her cell phone, then left, prosecutor Chris Thompson told the court. It was returned to her a few days later.
On June 24, 2022, she called the OPP because he was threatening and repeatedly following her.
Mills threatened to share intimate videos of them together if she didn't give him money, the assistant Crown attorney told the court.
He was hanging around her workplace and demanding money over social media.
Mills punched her in the face, splitting her lip, on Feb. 14.
The court heard the accused's brother reported a break-in to his residence on March 14, 2022.
He provided police with a video that showed Nash was one of the two individuals who made off with a PlayStation 5.
On Christmas Eve, OPP arrested Nash for possession of stolen property: keys and a wallet belonging to another man.
Shortly before 8 a.m. on May 26 of last year, OPP officers were dispatched to JD Island in the North Channel of Lake Huron.
The property owner had contacted police after viewing video footage of two people on the private island. The cops located the pair in a shed, which had a broken lock.
Nash told them he had used a boat, which he claimed was unmoored, to travel to the island, Thompson said, adding the owner indicated it had been chained.
He had bolt cutters and a pry bar with him.
On two occasions last summer, the accused resisted police when officers were trying to take him into custody.
On July 21, Nash pulled away when they were attempting to handcuff him and "successfully ran away."
When he was located on Aug. 26, he gave the cops a false name, kept pulling away and tried to take the officer's handcuffs.
While in custody at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre, Mills called the woman, who he was to have no contact with, on Nov. 26.
She told police she never answered the phone and that she had received several calls from him while he was at the jail.
The Crown and defence lawyer Jessica Belisle proposed a sentence of time served (the equivalent of 360 days) plus 24 months probation.
Mills has a criminal record, with one entry from 2019, for offences that include assault, mischief and unauthorized possession of firearm for which he received probation, Thompson said.
Her client was struggling with addiction, something that is not unique in our communities, and mental illness, Belisle told the court.
He was using methamphetamine, cocaine and "just about anything he could get his hands on."
Mills had limited means, was homeless, and fell through the cracks.
This is the longest time he has spent in pre-trial custody and "it's had a significant impact on him."
Kwolek accepted the joint position, indicating the sentence could have been longer.
"A significant number of charges were dealt with today" and "the sheer number (of offences) in such a short period of time" is an aggravating factor.
The pleas saved quite a lot of court time, the judge said.
During his two-year probation, Mills must participate in any recommended counselling, can have no contact with the woman and the other victims, must remain 25 metres away from them and can't possess break-in instruments.
He must provide a DNA sample and is prohibited from having weapons for 10 years.
Mills remains in custody on other charges.