Using his fists for retaliation has netted a veteran firefighter a life ban from Servus Credit Union Place.
Eric Takacs of Edmonton pleaded guilty to assault in late April and received his sentence in St. Albert court on Monday.
Takacs belonged to a recreational hockey league for men aged 55 and over and on one occasion, got into an altercation with a fellow player. After the next game, Takacs retaliated by approaching the player in the change room and punched him several times in the head.
The man subsequently suffered a concussion.
Takacs has been a firefighter for 35 years and is the captain of the Castle Downs fire station in Edmonton.
“I’ve been playing hockey for 50 years and adult hockey for 30 years,” said Takacs. “This has never happened before.”
Defence lawyer Jose Delgado told the court Tackacs was acting on impulse and his primary concern was how it would be reflected on his criminal record, which has a single unrelated conviction from 1984 for obstructing a peace officer.
The presentence report ordered for the 57-year-old’s sentencing stated Takacs “is not a violent person and the incident was somewhat out of character.”
The report also revealed Takacs “shows remorse regarding impact on his life, but minimizes the act itself,” a factor Judge Bruce Garriock found troubling.
“We run into this quite often, when hockey triggers some sort of primal response,” he commented.
Takacs was handed a conditional discharge with a $50 victim fine surcharge and six months probation with conditions to have no contact with the complainant, seek counselling and not to visit Servus Place. If the conditions are met, no conviction will appear on Takacs’ criminal record. If they are not, he will be re-sentenced.
After apologizing for attempting to steal $1,100 worth of products from the Target store on St. Albert Trail, a Sherwood Park man questioned the judge after receiving his hefty jail sentence.
“Isn’t this a little extreme for an attempted theft?” asked Roger Paul Poirier in St. Albert court.
Garriock dismissed his comment and continued reviewing his “unenviable, extensive and related (criminal) record,” which was factored into a six-month sentence for him this time around.
Poirier was picked up by police at Target on May 24 around 5:40 p.m. for taking products off the shelves and stuffing them into a suitcase. Poirier and an accomplice planned to flee through a fire exit before being caught by a loss prevention officer.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to theft under $5,000.
The 37-year-old told the court he did not go into the store with the intention of stealing. He said he has been trying to dissociate himself from people involved in shoplifting as well as the drug scene, considering his addiction to opiate narcotics.
Garriock sentenced Poirier to 186 days in jail and one-year probation, with a condition to abstain from alcohol and illegal drugs.
A St. Albert man will be spending the next four months at the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC) for instigating a drunken brawl at his family’s home.
Steven C. Durocher appeared in court Monday via CCTV from the ERC and pleaded guilty to assault, property mischief and breaching the conditions of his undertaking.
On June 22 at 8:30 p.m. RCMP were called to a home in Mission where Durocher was fighting with two of his male relatives in the front yard. Court heard that before police arrived he was intoxicated and violent, having punched his sister-in-law and pulled her hair.
Before attempted to flee the scene, Durocher kicked and subsequently damaged his company vehicle resulting in the property mischief charge.
Durocher was released by police on conditions to keep the peace and be of good behaviour and to abstain from consuming alcohol.
On July 1 around 7 p.m., RCMP were called to pick up a drunk man trying to start a fight. They found Durocher in an alley way behind a strip mall drinking beer and took him into custody.
Court heard the 40-year-old has a “horrendous” alcohol problem, which also runs in the family. His alcohol addiction is also reflected in his lengthy criminal record.
Garriock handed down a sentence of 120 days in jail and waived the victim fine surcharge.
Shivneel Kumar pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property, driving over the legal limit and breaching his probation earlier this year and received his sentence Monday.
On Sept. 9, 2012 a driver – later identified as Kumar – hit a parked vehicle and attempted to flee the scene at approximately 3:35 a.m. Kumar provided breath samples to RCMP, reading 260 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood – more than three times the legal blood alcohol limit of 80.
At the time Kumar was under an 18-month probation stemming from a conviction of theft. One of the conditions of the order prohibited Kumar from drinking alcohol and using other intoxicating substances.
Court heard Kumar had a limited recollection of the night’s incidents and has sought out counselling for his alcohol addiction.
The 24-year-old was given a suspended sentence with two years probation. He must also pay more than $1,600 in damages to the owner of the parked vehicle he hit and is prohibited from driving for one year.
