Revenge is a dish best served drunk

When an inebriated Edmonton man found himself evicted from his Jasper hotel earlier this spring, he decided to take his frustration out on the people who had complained about his unruly behaviour. Less than two months after angrily keying a 2005 Acura in the parking lot of the Tonquin Inn, Eric Mulharen pleaded guilty to mischief and agreed to pay the cost of repainting the vehicle. An estimate provided to the court by a body shop in Edmonton placed the likely cost for that work in the range of $4,000. 

“It was a pretty good key job,” commented Provincial Crown Prosecutor Bob Marr.

Mulharen, who was apprehended by police shortly after the incident, which took place in the early morning hours of March 24, had no prior record and offered an ashamed apology after his plea.

“I don’t usually drink and I don’t want to blame this on drinking, but it did make a difference in my behaviour,” he said, asking if it was possible for his apology to be passed on to the vehicle’s owner.

“We’ll be passing more than that along,” said Judge Donald Norheim. “You’ll be paying for his car.”

The Edmonton man was placed on 10 months probation and will be required to abstain completely from alcohol and avoid all licenced premises (except for restaurants) for the duration of this period. He will have until the end of his probation to pay off the cost of repainting the complainant’s Honda.

Reluctant dealer cops to selling Ecstasy

It may have happened in September of last year, but Jason Darcy McMillan will have to wait a little longer to bear the consequences of a ten dollar transaction he made on Patricia Street.

McMillan pleaded guilty to trafficking a controlled substance in Jasper Provincial Court last Thursday (May 11) but he will not be sentenced until June 22, pending the completion of a pre-sentencing report. 

It was just after 1 a.m. on September 19, 2005 when a Jasper RCMP officer witnessed McMillan selling drugs to a woman outside the Athabasca Hotel. After arresting both individuals, it was determined that McMillan had sold one tablet of Ecstasy to an acquaintance for $10. McMillan was in possession of nine similar tablets and informed the arresting officer that he had only made the transaction because the would-be purchaser had been “bugging” him all night.

Analysis of the tablet involved in the abortive sale revealed that it contained methamphetamine as well as the chemical ingredients of Ecstasy, but Federal Crown Prosecutor Vaughn Myers told the court he was convinced that McMillan had believed the tablets to be constituted only of Ecstasy at the time he was in possession of them.

McMillan, who made several preliminary appearances in court during the fall, has been under strict release conditions since the date of the offence and will remain under those terms until he is sentenced next month. Another charge, possession with the intention of trafficking, was withdrawn. The individual who purchased the Ecstasy from McMillan had been expected to appear in court on Thursday, and a warrant was issued upon her failure to appear.