A young man will spend the next two years in jail after a night of theft, vandalism and violence that left another man with knife wounds.
Mitchell A. Kuszmaniuk appeared in St. Albert provincial court Monday via closed circuit television to plead guilty to one count each of robbery, assault, theft under $5,000, mischief related to property and unlawfully being in a dwelling-house.
The charges stem from a chain of events that occurred between late June 28 and early June 29 of this year, said provincial Crown prosecutor John Donahoe, reading the facts of the case in court.
On the night of June 28 in a park in Akinsdale, Kuszmaniuk, 19, approached a man he knew and spoke to him. “Mr. Kuszmaniuk apparently thought that the man was fooling around with his girlfriend,” Donahoe said, and he struck the man in the head with his fist. He left the scene after taking the man’s backpack, which contained keys and a lunch bag. The victim reported the theft to police.
Sometime later, Kuszmaniuk approached the home of a second man he knew and forced his way into the house, shoving past him, damaging the doorframe and punching a hole in the wall with the door handle in the process. The man later evicted Kuszmaniuk from his home and called police, noting that Kuszmaniuk appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“Unfortunately,” Donahoe said, “it didn’t end there.” After midnight on June 29, Kuszmaniuk approached a man on the trail behind St. Albert Centre and threatened him with a knife. After slashing the man on the arm and abdomen, he took the man’s cellphone and left.
The man called police and provided a detailed description of his attacker, one that mentioned tattoos on the attacker’s arm. Police used a GPS program on the phone to track it to Guardian Drugs, where they located a man matching the attacker’s description. That man, Kuszmaniuk, had the cellphone, knife and backpack on his person, as well as some rings taken from the man whose home he had forcibly entered. He was then arrested.
Kuszmaniuk admits he has a drug problem, Donahoe said, and had no prior convictions as an adult, although he had several unrelated convictions as a youth. Still, these were serious offences. “We’re not talking about something that’s inconsequential.” The court heard that the man who had been slashed needed 11 stitches for his wounds.
It was unfortunate that Kuszmaniuk had committed these offences at such a young age, said Judge Charles Gardner. “I hope you will get the treatment you obviously need while incarcerated,” he said to Kuszmaniuk.
Gardner sentenced Kuszmaniuk to two years in jail. Kuszmaniuk must also submit a DNA sample to the national databank, and is banned from owning weapons for 10 years.
A senior with an otherwise clean record is now out more than $1,000 after he was caught driving shoeless and drunk.
Brian Farrell, 72, pled guilty to one count of operating a motor vehicle while impaired in St. Albert court this week.
St. Albert RCMP officers spotted a car swerving about with its headlights off at about 4 a.m. on June 30, said Donahoe, reading the facts of the case in court. They pulled the car over and found that the driver, Farrell, had slurred speech and watery eyes.
“He was driving home with no shoes,” the prosecutor added.
The officers put him under arrest.
Farrell had no criminal record, said his lawyer, Dan Galbraith, and was relieved that no one was hurt by his actions. “He was embarrassed to talk to me about this matter.”
Gardner agreed that this incident was unusual for Farrell. “It is unfortunate that you are before the court at 72 years of age for the first time.” He fined Farrell $1,150, including the victim fine surcharge, and banned him from driving for a year.
