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Man gets two months jail for 'stupid act' Broke into his ex-girlfriend's place, demanded she pack up his stuff before asking to rekindle their relationship
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Friday, June 7, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A 34-year-old man was sentenced to two months in prison Tuesday for breaking into the home of his ex-girlfriend and demanding she return his computer and television.
On the morning of July 27, 2012, the victim was in her kitchen and looked up to find the father of her two children staring back at her. The pair had broken up about five months earlier.
The man, who will not be named in the interest of protecting the victim, proceeded to tell her to pack up a television and computer he had bought.
She did what he asked and he later started talking about how he wanted to fix their relationship. When she refused to get back together with him he became angry and started smashing pictures of their children.
The victim went to the RCMP to report the incident and that evening decided to sleep at a relative's place. The next day she found the man sleeping on her balcony and police arrested him.
The assailant has 26 prior convictions. Six of those convictions are for violent offences while 14 are for breaching court conditions and two are for property related offences.
Crown prosecutor Danielle Vaillancourt requested the man be given four months custody for the charge of being unlawfully in a dwelling-house. She also argued he get another 30 days in jail for breaching a condition of his release on April 2.
It's an aggravating circumstance, Vaillancourt said, that the man had contacted the victim repeatedly to get his stuff and she refused to have him by so he showed up to her place while intoxicated.
Defence lawyer Tony Amoud asked deputy judge Robert Halifax to consider the fact that this was not a random act but a "stupid act." His client knew the victim and showed up because he felt he had a right to his property.
Amoud argued Halifax should focus on the principle of rehabilitation and requested his client, who pleaded guilty to charges, be given one month in jail and probation for the two charges. His suggested sentence took into account the fact the man has already spent 63 days in custody.
Although there was no violence during the incident, the man's record caused Halifax to question if he could abide by conditions. He sentenced him to two months in jail for the charge of being unlawfully in a dwelling-house and one month for breaching the conditions of his release.
He also gave him one year probation with conditions that he complete any counselling or treatment programs suggested to him by his supervisor and that he have no contact with the victim except to arrange access to his children and only when he is sober.
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