Group home fire violation case sentencing adjourned for pre-sentencing report – London
Keith Charles talks on a cell phone across the street from the courthouse on Dundas St.
Liny Lamberink/AM980
Keith Charles’s request for a pre-sentence report was granted on Monday, at what would have been his sentencing hearing at a courthouse in London.
The group home operator was found guilty of 12 fire code violations related to a fire in November 2014 at 1451 Oxford St. that killed David MacPherson, 72.
Justice of the Peace Peter Aharan adjourned the hearing and said the request for a pre-sentence report was not unusual when jail time is considered. Before Charles delivered his submissions, Arahan said he was considering 30 days of jail time to be served on weekends and two years of probation.
The prosecution is recommending Charles pay $60,000 in fines, or $5,000 per count.
Outside the provincial offences offices at 824 Dundas St., Charles stood with a woman named Joanne as she boarded a paratransit bus in a wheelchair. She assured him “I’m on your side, I’m for you, I’m not against you,” and that she wished to speak to his lawyer.
