Innisfil man who targeted Barrie businesses in 2022 sentenced to jail time 

An Innisfil man who pleaded guilty to being part of a series of break-and-enters and thefts in 2022 has been sentenced to jail.

Terrence Zerafa, 32, walked into the Barrie courthouse on Tuesday morning and apologized for his actions.

"I've been taking steps to better myself every day," he said. "I apologize for what I did."

The judge sentenced Zerafa to 10 months behind bars but reduced the sentence by about three months to 202 days in custody.

Justice Peter Bourque said while Zerafa's crimes were not violent offences, he caused significant damages to various businesses and significant monetary loss in the thefts.

He noted that while Zerafa did not have a criminal record and his pre-sentence report was "largely positive on balance," his actions were not a "single lapse of good sense" and resulted in "significant monetary damages."

The Crown asked Zerafa be sentenced to 12-18 months behind bars while defence counsel Robert Yasskin sought a conditional sentence for his client or six to nine months in jail.

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device 
• Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox

Zerafa is also placed on probation following his release from jail and is not to communicate with his co-accused of stepping foot on the properties where the thefts and break-and-enters occurred.

Police said Zerafa and his co-accused stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of items, including conductor wire, catalytic converters, power tools, rental trucks, eight cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks along with a skid steer, commercial dumpster, forklift, and pressure washers.

Zerafa told the court he wanted to turn his life around, work, and attend college.