Breach of weapons prohibition leads to 10-month conditional discharge

BARRHEAD - A woman who pleaded guilty received a 10-month conditional discharge for breaching a condition of her release order.

Justice Gregory Arnold Rice handed down the sentence rejecting a Crown-defence joint submission during a July 9 Barrhead Court of Justice session after Jodee Bigcharles pleaded guilty to breaching a release order condition. Bigcharles appeared via closed-circuit TV from the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre.

The Crown withdrew a charge of obstructing a peace officer.

The Facts

Crown prosecutor Mark Facundo said that on Jan. 10, 2021, at about 5:15 p.m., an RCMP patrol in Barrhead observed an Indigenous woman in the back of a truck.

The officer who had dealt with Bigcharles before recognized her and knew she had warrants for her arrest on unrelated matters.

Facundo said the accused first told police her name was Lori-Anne Gladue.

However, the Crown said the officer did not take that for an answer, and eventually, Bigcharles admitted her true identity.

He added the officer searched Bigcharles person as part of the process of taking her into custody, discovering a four-inch kitchen knife in her hoodie.

At the time, Facundo said, Bigcharles was bound by a release order prohibiting her from possessing knives.

The Crown added that the accused did not have a criminal record.

Given that and the overrepresentation of those of Indigenous descent, along with considering her early guilty plea, Facundo suggested a $400 fine.

"It seems a little high," Justice Rice commented. "[The offence] happened in 2021, and you tell me she doesn't have a criminal record. It is in the realm of a conditional discharge."

Rice added that it was "a bit ironic" that he was putting out the possibility of a conditional discharge, as he rarely gives them out.

"The facts read into the record of most cases given a conditional discharge often far eclipse this one," he said. "Sometimes even intimate partner violence gets a conditional discharge."

Facundo then double-checked to see if Bigcharles had a criminal record concerning any outstanding matters on which the accused was waiting for resolution.

"The latest charges I have here do not indicate any criminal record, and given the court's comments, the Crown is not opposed to a conditional discharge," he said.

Bigcharles lawyer, Jessica Schwarz, suggested that an absolute discharge might be more appropriate depending on the conditions the Crown would impose on her client.

"Now you're pushing it," Rice responded. "It's a knife and a hoodie with a police officer and was on conditions not to have it. That is not an absolute discharge."

He then asked the Crown and the defence for suggestions for the conditional discharge conditions.

"Do you want some counselling? I could make one of the conditions to report to a probation officer, and if the officer thought she needed a little help with something, it might be of some assistance. Remember, we are trying to be rehabilitative here." Justice Rice said, later suggesting life skills counselling.

Facundo and Scharz both said they struggled to come up with applicable conditions.

In the end, it was decided that the conditions would be to keep the peace, be of good behaviour, and report to court when required.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com