Man with ‘unenviable’ record gets 2 1/2 years in latest brush with the law

Article content

The car showed up in front of a London retirement home at about 4 a.m. and was still there three hours later.

That seemed suspicious, especially because there were two men sleeping in the front seats, to a concerned citizen, who called police.

Police recognized the man strung out on fentanyl in the driver’s seat of a stolen vehicle was on their wanted list.

Johnny Grebenchan, 34, pleaded guilty to a spate of charges Friday including possessing a stolen car, resisting arrest, possessing ammunition while prohibited for life, driving while impaired by drug and possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

Article content

Grebenchan, who made headlines in 2019 after he showed up at a London emergency room with five gunshots in his leg from a confrontation at a home invasion – and later was sentenced to six years in prison for his part in the scheme – is not new to the local criminal justice system. His record, Ontario Court Justice Jason Miller noted, is “unenviable to say the least.”

However, Friday marked the first time Grebenchan, who appeared in court remotely from the local jail, had been found guilty of a driving crime. As part of a joint sentencing submission from the Crown and the defence, Miller agreed to a 2 ½-year prison sentence, and $3,000 in fines. With Grebenchan’s time already served factored in, he has little more than a year to serve at a provincial jail. He was recommended for an eastern Ontario jail where he can address his addiction issues.

Assistant Crown attorney Steve Monaghan laid out the facts that supported Grebenchan’s guilty pleas.

Three months before Grebenchan’s arrest, a man reported his Ontario health card and driver’s licence had been stolen. Also, a car was reported stolen from a northeast London address.

Article content

A month later, a woman reported her car had been stolen and a few days later, another woman said her licence plate was gone. Another plate was reported stolen a few days later.

Then, on April 18, 2023, shortly after 7 a.m. came the call from a concerned resident about the car parked in a lot outside a London retirement home for more than three hours with two men sleeping in it.

Police blocked in the stolen vehicle and an officer approached the vehicle where the two men were now awake and moving around. The engine turned on and was revving when an officer went to the driver’s side door and recognized Grebenchan.

He was wanted in connection with a February 2023 break-in. Those charges were dismissed after a trial almost a year ago.

Another officer opened the front passenger door to see Grebenchan’s companion holding a needle in his hand and drug paraphernalia scattered throughout the front interior area. The officer was able to grab the needle and turned off the engine. The other officer on the driver’s side told Grebenchan he was under arrest.

Article content

“Mr. Grebenchan became abrasive and reached for the gear shift,” Monaghan said. While the officers tried to subdue him, Grebenchan “continued to resist by pulling away and trying to start the vehicle.”

The officers used force to stop him. Several other officers arrived to assist in the arrest.

When Grebenchan was taken to London police headquarters, he was wearing a black Lululemon fanny pack across his chest. Inside the purse was “a yellow and tan substance wrapped in Saran Wrap, which was suspected fentanyl,” along with the stolen health card and driver’s licence, Monaghan said.

Police seized two grams of suspected fentanyl and seven grams of suspected yellow fentanyl estimated to be worth $4,050. As well, five rounds of .22-calibre ammunition were found in the fanny pack.

Inside the stolen car, in the rear pocket behind the driver’s seat was one of the two stolen licence plates. The licence plate affixed to the rear of the car was covered with paper, which, once removed, revealed the other stolen plate.

Back at police headquarters, police noticed Grebenchan couldn’t keep his eyes open, but refused a drug recognition evaluation.

Article content

Federal drug prosecutor Vince Mazza said Grebenchan was remanded to the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre where officers saw him trying to cover up a camera that was monitoring his cell. Guards found Grebenchan near the toilet with wet hands. He tried to throw something into the corner of the cell.

Found were two baggies; one had 15 grams of fentanyl, while the other had cannabis “shatter,” a marijuana residue product.

Grebenchan’s defence lawyer Keli Mersereau said while her client pleaded guilty to the charges, he didn’t acknowledge owning of the drugs or the brass knuckles. The drugs that were found in the cell had been secreted in him and he didn’t intend to bring them into the jail.

“Mr. Grebenchan was using the fentanyl because of his own addiction and selling to support his addiction,” she said.

She told Miller Grebenchan had “a most-horrendous upbringing” where he was exposed to criminal activity, physical and emotional abuse and drugs. He began using opiates when he was 18 and moved on to crystal meth and fentanyl. He has been struggling with addictions his entire adult life.

Article content

Mazza told the judge the courts often see fentanyl traffickers who are also users. “Mr. Grebenchan knows what he’s doing is problematic for himself and for others,” he said.

The judge agreed to the joint sentencing position, saying Grebenchan has been affected by intergenerational trauma and criminality that has affected his decision-making abilities.

“Mr. Grebenchan has made terrible decision after terrible decision, which has only been further exacerbated by Mr. Grebenchan’s addictions problems,” Miller said, adding Grebenchan is now using a powerful drug “he knows can kill him anytime he uses it.”

“I suspect it might mean Mr Grebenchan might have given up on himself. I hope I’m wrong about that, Mr. Grebenchan. I hope there is something in you that wants a better life than this.”

jsims@postmedia.com

Article content