Assault with a Weapon and Other Charges Dropped for Counseling

Charge(s):

CC: s.267(a) – Assault with a Weapon, s.430(1)(a) – Mischief, s.129(a) – Resisting Arrest, s.264(2)(b) – Criminal Harrassment (repeated communication), s.264(2)(c) – Criminal Harrassment (besetting dwelling house)

Allegations:

My client and his wife had recently separated and he was having great difficulty accepting their failing relationship. While picking up some personal items, that his wife left for him, he saw her in the parking lot with their two kids. She was with her friend and her two small children too. He approached them and attempted to persuade her into reconciling their relationship. She was not interested and refused to listen to him. He became enraged and started yelling at her, forcing her and her friend and the four children to lock themselves inside the vehicle as they feared for their safety. He went to his vehicle and retrieved a tire iron, returned to her vehicle and smashed her driver’s side glass, causing minor injuries to her left arm. He fled the scene prior to police arrival, yelling to her that he would return and cause further damages to her vehicle. A warrant issued for his arrest, as his whereabouts remained unknown.His wife soon after obtained an Emergency Protection Order against my client.Three weeks later, my client attended at his wife’s residence again. She called 911, while he was at her front door, trying to talk to her and gain access inside her apartment. She barricaded the door with a dresser and took her children to a safe room. She was ferful for her safety and for the safety of her children. Police located my client inside the stairwell to the building and advised him that he was under arrest. He provided police with a different name and then tried to escape by pushing his way past the offciers and run down the stairs. He was taken into custody and handcuffed.

Result:

I persuaded the Crown to withdraw the assault with a weapon charge, in exchange for guilty pleas to the charges of mischief, resisting arrest and one count of harrassment. Given my client’s fragile emotional state, I requested a Pre-Sentence Report, as well as a Psychological Assessment. Neither report was prepared in time for the sentencing, so ratehr than adjourning, we proceeded without them. By way of penatly, he received a suspended sentence and a period of probation for 18 months, with conditions that he attend for assessment and counseling as directed in order to assist him in coming to terms with the probems in his life.