HALIFAX – A Nova Scotia man has pleaded guilty to breaching an order that forbids him from entering liquor stores, a condition that was placed on him after serving time for drunk driving causing death.
Michael Gerard Cooper was arrested on Jan. 28, a week following his release from a New Brunswick prison after serving a seven-year sentence without parole for causing the deaths of two people.
Cooper was released Jan. 21 on several conditions, including a two-year ban from entering any place where alcohol is sold or consumed as the primary source of business, as well as a two-year order to abstain from buying, possessing or drinking alcohol.
He was in custody since his arrest at a Halifax liquor store and sentenced to time served.
A mental health assessment report was submitted to provincial court earlier Thursday from the East Coast Forensic Hospital saying Cooper was fit to stand trial and not exempt from criminal responsibility due to mental illness.
But the report also said Cooper has significant brain damage as a result of a traumatic brain injury, making it difficult for him to adapt to independent community living.
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