ESTEVAN — A southeast Saskatchewan man who had 27 charges before the court pleaded guilty to several of them March 5 in Estevan Provincial Court.
Zachary Christopher Hillis, 32, received a 20-month conditional sentence order and 18 months of probation, as per the terms of a joint submission. Hillis was supposed to stand trial on a number of charges and speak to others that day, but the global resolution resolved his outstanding matters.
He pleaded guilty to one count each of fraud; assault; knowingly possessing a firearm, weapon, prohibited device or ammunition without authorization; breaking and entering a place and committing an indictable offence; possessing, using or trafficking in a credit card or a forged or falsified credit card; and violating a probation order; and five counts of violating release conditions. He will also have to pay $3,200 in restitution to three victims.
While many of the stayed charges were related to alleged breaches of release and probation conditions, he was also facing firearm charges, and charges for assault, uttering threats and more.
Crown prosecutor Cheyenne Esmond told the court that the offences ranged in date from May 2023 that involved the fraudulent sale of a horse that belonged to a woman in Swift Current, to incidents in the southeast early this year. Ten of the charges stemmed from an arrest at a farm near Oxbow in October 2024.
“Mr. Hillis was located hiding inside a shop, near a trailer,” said Esmond. “Mr. Hillis was arrested on outstanding warrants. His release order allowed police to search his property and they searched his trailer.”
Police located two firearms and ammunition, she said. and he was on conditions not to have firearms.
The joint submission was reached after what Esmond called substantial conversation between the Crown and defence. She added Hillis’ guilty plea spared a couple of his victims from testifying, in a trial, and he saved the court from additional resources.
“Some of these matters have been languishing a little bit, but other matters … are from January of this year, and he’s dealing with them quite promptly,” she said.
Esmond also pointed out Hillis has a prior criminal record, and that he spent about a month in custody after his most recent arrest in February.
Hillis’ attorney Joelle Graham noted Hillis suffered injuries while working at a ranch, which led to him using cocaine and then crack cocaine, creating a “downward spiral”. When he was out of custody from October 2025 until his arrest in February, she said Hillis went through multiple stretches of relapse and recovery.
“What this conditional sentence order is going to do, is it’s going to keep him tightly restrained,” said Graham.
When given the chance to speak, Hillis said he knows the CSO will be difficult, and described this as his third chance.
Judge Mitch Miller said people go through detox when incarcerated, but the addiction issue remains. Hillis and Graham said he is going to work on the issue to keep it in control, and addictions counselling is a condition of the CSO and probation.
Miller said when he saw the CSO, he was a little concerned because Hillis didn’t follow his previous conditions.
“Given what I’ve been told now, I’m going to go along with the joint submission, but the reason why I say that, is obviously the stakes are a bit higher on the conditional sentence order, which is jail in the community,” said Miller.
The judge said Hillis is getting a break, but the CSO is “not an inappropriate sentence”.
The CSO has standard conditions. Also, for the first 10 months, Hillis has to remain in his residence 24 hours a day, except when he has prior written permission from his supervisor or designate. For the final 10 months, the curfew applies from 10 p.m.-7 a.m. He also can’t consume or possess alcohol, marijuana or drugs that haven’t been prescribed to him by a doctor, and he can’t go to a place where the primary purpose is the sale of alcohol or cannabis.
Hillis cannot possess a firearm or ammunition, and he can’t have a knife except for eating or employment purposes.
