Cycle Logic owner sentenced

Photo: Jennifer Zielinski

Newcome leaving Kelowna Court House

UPDATE 3 P.M.

John Edward Newcome plead guilty to 19 counts ranging from possession of stolen property to trafficking in stolen property, but had nothing to say in his defence at his sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon.

Judge Vincent Hogan handed Newcome a $500 fine plus a $100 victim surcharge for the charge of possession of cocaine and the same fines for the charge of breach of probation.

However, when it came to the 14 counts of stolen property and trafficking in stolen property, for which Newcome pleaded guilty, Judge Hogan explained he was following a joint submission with his sentencing decision.

Hogan says the public may see joint submissions, (also known as plea bargains which includes an agreement by Crown and defence on the sentence) as wrist slapping, however, he believes the Crown has the communities interest at heart when deciding on an imposed sentence.

The judge handed Newcome an 18-month conditional sentence to be served in the community, with the first nine months under house arrest and the second nine under curfew conditions.

Hogan did express his disgust with Newcome's crimes, stating, "Just the sheer number of stolen property and the plundering of the community from Calgary west ….. it's absolutely appalling."

He then went on to list several of the items stolen by Newcome and his business Cycle Logic, such as Ford F 350s to Pontoon boats, to ATVs.

Hogan claimed as he listened to Crown's submissions of Newcome's charges that he would be handing down a two year jail sentence, but due to the joint submission a conditional sentence was decided upon instead.

Newcome must abide by the regulations of conditional sentence which include, remaining in the jurisdiction unless having written consent, no drugs, alcohol or weapons and must present all vehicles to the RCMP before purchasing.

The Cycle Logic owner must also pay back Sovereign General Insurance $7,502, as part of his guilty plea stemming from a count of stolen property that involved a pontoon boat.

Crown Counsel is recommending a conditional sentence for the man accused of running a chop shop in West Kelowna.

John Edward Newcome faces charges of possession of stolen property, trafficking in stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and breach of probation.

During his sentencing in a Kelowna Court, which was presided over by Judge Vincent Hogan, Newcome plead guilty to both possession and breach of probation, as well as changed his not guilty plea to guilty for 14 of 17 counts which involved possession of stolen property and trafficking of stolen property.

As Newcome does not have a prior record, Crown changed its recommendation, after speaking with defense, from a 12 month jail sentence to an 18 month conditional sentence, which would include nine months under house arrest and a second nine months under a curfew condition.

Federal Crown was also in attendance, where they suggest a fine of $500 for the possession of four baggies of cocaine, which was found to be on Newcome during his arrest.

Newcome was the owner of Cycle Logic, a business which RCMP say had connections to the Nanaimo and Calgary chapters of the Hells Angels, as well as the Throttle Lockers and Kingpin Crew from Kelowna. The operation itself involved modifying the Vehicle Identification Numbers on stolen vehicles, boats, trailers, ATV's and machinery.

Stolen vehicles were found during the police raid on Aug. 2, 2012  on Newcome's home property in Peachland and at Cycle Logic in West Kelowna.

Sentencing will continue after 2 p.m. Thursday.