Two men pled guilty to a home invasion in London. They entered the home and demanded ‘weed’ (marijuana). The apartment resident admits that his roommates used drugs. The thieves made off with a computer, two game consoles and a bottle of anti-anxiety drugs — all easily liquidated on the street.

Teen Challenge understands both the victims’ and the addicts’ side of this story. Addicts will stoop to any low, including theft, to get the funds for that next fix. Yet, society bears the burden of the addicts’ insatiable search for more money to fund their addiction. The more money addicts have, the more drugs they buy.

Teen Challenge remains a safe place for addicts to come without judgement to get clean. We understand the implications of choosing a new life without drugs and alcohol. It’s a hard road. And like the Israelites in the desert, there will be times where they look back on their old life and think it wasn’t so bad. The Choir sings Never Going Back To Egypt for this very reason. God continues to reach out to the lost and broken in this world and offers hope and redemption.

To read a parents story of addiction click here.

Robbers plead guilty in home invasion

By JANE SIMS, The London Free Press

CRIME: THE TWO MEN, WHO WERE LOOKING FOR POT, ADMIT FORCING THEIR WAY INTO A STUDENT APARTMENT AND STEALING VIDEO GAMES AND A COMPUTER -

They came to the door looking for "weed."

They left with bags of video gaming equipment.

And Monday, Bobby Joe Chenier and Cody Tangredi, both 22, pleaded guilty to robbery for a bizarre home invasion 19 months ago.

Chenier and Tangredi were to have started a jury trial Monday, but opted to plead guilty to one count of robbery.

Assistant Crown attorney Peter Kierluk told Superior Court Justice Johanne Morissette that the two men and another unknown man knocked on the door of a Maitland Street apartment on Oct. 18, 2008.

The only person home was a 21-year-old man who shared the apartment with three other males who attended Fanshawe College.

After the tenant answered the door, Chenier, Tangredi and the third man pushed their way inside, asking where "the weed," or marijuana, was.

Tangredi had a hammer, Kierluk said.

The tenant said he didn't know of any drugs in the house, but later told police he was certain his roommates were drug users.

There was nothing that would indicate that the intruders knew the housemates. Tangredi and Chenier began looking around, while the third man stayed near the door.

The residence had a common area with the individual rooms secured and locked. The men forced open one door during their search.

While no drugs were taken, the men stole two video game consoles, a laptop computer and a BB gun. They also took the tenant's anxiety medications.

All the loot was loaded into backpacks. Just before they left, Tangredi grabbed a reproduction of a Samurai sword in the apartment, removed it from its scabbard and pointed it at the tenant.

"I'll cut your head off if you come outside and look at our car," he said.

The tenant called police and gave them a description of two men. He later identified Tangredi and Chenier in photo line-ups and they were arrested.

The total value of the property taken was $2,800. The gaming systems were not recovered, but the computer was.

Kierluk said "oddly enough" the tenant was working on a computer when the intruders arrived. They gave the tenant "a break" and didn't take it, he said.

The tenant was not injured.

Tangredi's defence lawyer Wally Libis told Morrisette some "weed" was taken from one of the rooms and his client had a limited memory of what happened.

Chenier does not have a criminal record. Tangredi has no adult criminal record.

Pre-sentence reports were ordered and the men will be sentenced May 11.

Find the article here.