ATHABASCA — An Athabasca-area man is hoping a change of address will help keep him out of trouble after his latest stay at the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre.
In Athabasca Court of Justice Nov. 5, Delbert Lorne Gambler, 58, pleaded guilty to one count of assault and one count of failing to comply with a probation order. In exchange for his guilty pleas, one additional count of failing to comply with a probation order was withdrawn.
Court heard on Oct. 19, 2024, Gambler was intoxicated and walking with his former partner in Calling Lake when he began yelling and pushed his companion, making her fall to her knees.
At the time, Gambler was on a probation order with a no-contact order for the woman he was with.
Justice Joanne Heudes accepted Gambler’s guilty pleas and handed down a 25-day custodial sentence satisfied by time served. Gambler had been in custody for 18 actual days, enhanced to 27 days.
“You’ve managed to enjoy 15 years of sobriety, and I’m sorry to find that you’re struggling again,” said Heudes. “At the same time, you’re trying to put things together, you actually have a plan in place.”
Defence counsel Kelsey Norton spoke on Gambler’s behalf, and while a formal Gladue report was not requested, she did make submissions providing context to his life and early childhood.
“He recounted to me that his mother was a victim of residential schools, and obviously there’s some trauma that gets passed down through the family unfortunately through that,” said Norton.
“He’s made the decision to relocate to Edmonton with the hope that that would be a new start for him,” said Norton. “He’s connected with Boyle Street in Edmonton; he has a worker there who’s working on getting him housing.”
Crown prosecutor Matthew Kerr suggested another 18 months of probation as part of the sentence, but Heudes disagreed.
“Since you’re not going to be in the circumstances, I don’t want to put you in the situation where you could possibly accrue more charges, and I’m just going to leave it at that.”
