Jamie Similas walked handcuffed into the prisoner’s dock of a Barrie courtroom on Tuesday with the word 'Freedom' clearly visible in ink on his left forearm as the bailiff removed his shackles.
By the time Similas left court to go back to jail, that tattoo was the closest thing to freedom he will experience for many more months after pleading guilty to a string of break-ins and thefts that victimized businesses in Barrie, Bradford and Vaughan during the summer of 2022.
After pleading guilty, Similas was sentenced to two years less a day by Madame Justice Jodie-Lynn Waddilove of the Ontario Court of Justice.
“This was a crime spree,” Waddilove said from the bench, as Similas looked on intently.
Similas was part of a gang of thieves that broke into Bolts Plus, Mercer Equipment and Money Machine, a pawn shop, all businesses in the south end of Barrie.
Court heard that the total value of goods stolen in those heists was almost $70,000. The gang then fenced the goods – mostly tools and construction equipment – in Bradford, where Similas grew up.
Court also heard that police discovered evidence of another break-in on Bayfield Street during the same crime spree. Similas was discovered soon after in nearby Midhurst in his father’s vehicle accompanied by his co-conspirators and in possession of stolen property, as well as bolt cutters.
Similas also pleaded guilty to stealing a U-Haul truck that was used to transport the stolen loot, as well as breaking into a flooring business in Vaughan and theft of almost $500 in groceries from a Sobey’s store in Bradford.
In total, he was found guilty on 10 different charges, including three breach-of-release orders that has kept him in prison since July.
The sentence, which included a $4,500 restitution order, married up exactly to what the prosecution had sought in submissions by Crown attorney David Russell.
Similas’s lawyer, Domenic Manzo, had asked for a sentence between 12 and 18 months and for any restitution to be waived because of his client’s limited employment history and prospects for finding work upon release.
“It’s not enough,” Waddilove said of the Manzo’s request for a lighter sentence.
Similas was credited with 239 days so far, at the standard rate of 1.5 days per the actual 158 days spent in jail to this point. He has 490 days left to serve, meaning he will be eligible statutory release in about nine months' time.
Similas declined an opportunity to speak to the court, but Manzo told Waddilove of a rough childhood. His mother died six years ago of a drug overdose and court heard evidence that Similas found her unresponsive, aged just 51.
Similas’s current age was not presented in court, but he appears to be roughly 30 years old.
“He’s always felt guilty about not being able to help her,” Manzo told the court of his client finding his mother deceased.
Similas has developed addictions of his own, including crack cocaine use.
As part of his sentence, Waddilove made Similas subject to addiction counselling during his probation that will follow his release.
Earlier on Tuesday, Michael Gillingwater was before Waddilove to plead guilty to a lesser charge of mischief after breaking into a trailer on Essa Road earlier this year.
Gillingwater, 56, was given a suspended sentence of 12 months and a $300 fine. A more serious charge of break and enter was withdrawn.
Gillingwater was attempting to steal a Honda generator from the trailer, but neighbours alerted the owner while the crime was in progress. He fled the scene, but was apprehended shortly thereafter.
Gillingwater has a criminal record that dates to 1987.
According to evidence introduced during sentencing he has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour.
“My focus now is to get my brain tumour fixed,” Gillingwater told the court, while wiping tears from his eyes. “My criminal life is over.”
