The trial of a former Belleville businessman facing numerous charges in a Detroit court came to a surprise ending.
Jim Sinclair, the former owner of Bakelite property in Belleville, originally faced 23 charges.
One charge of running a “chop shop” involved the selling of parts of stolen cars.
He had 21 charges of receiving and concealing stolen property.
But when he appeared in Detroit court recently, before a judge alone, he pleaded “no contest” to 10 counts of receiving and concealing stolen property.
Wayne County assistant prosecutor Maria Miller told Quinte News that, for the purpose of sentencing, it is the same as a “guilty plea.”
Such a plea is granted by the court in cases where there is the potential for civil litigation.
Sinclair has been referred to probation for a pre-sentence report. Judge Thomas Cameron will hand down the sentence April 18.
Meanwhile Hastings County is awaiting the completion of the Detroit case before taking any action on nearly $700,000 worth of provincial offences fines owed to the court in Belleville by Sinclair.
For more on Sinclair click here: http://www.quintenews.com/2015/08/jim-sinclair-case-resumes-in-detroit/94055/