A man who tossed his belt at his common-law spouse and broke a glass coffee table during a heated dispute was sentenced to a mixture of jail time and probation.
Daniel Parsons-Morgan pleaded guilty to single counts of both assault and mischief and was handed 25 days he had already spent in jail, plus a year on probation.
Parsons-Morgan was in an argument with his common-law wife on Dec. 16, which escalated to the point where he threw his belt and pants at her. The belt struck the woman in the head opening a small cut on her forehead.
Also during the melee he broke a glass coffee table.
His lawyer told the court he had no intention to injure her and said the couple had since resolved their differences.
During the period he is on probation, Parsons-Morgan will have to report to probation frequently and attend any counselling he is directed to.
Judge Brian Fraser also banned him from the excessive consumption of alcohol and told Parsons-Morgan to ask his lawyer about how excessive would be defined.
A man sentenced to house arrest on drug charges a year and half ago avoided any further punishment after police raided a house he was living in, but did get a very stern warning from the judge.
Nicolas Degenhardt pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of breaching a conditional sentence, but was not handed any penalty.
Degenhardt was sentenced to the conditional sentence, which included a lengthy house arrest, in Aug 2010 for selling marijuana. One of the conditions of that sentence was that he stay out of any further trouble, but in late December police raided the house he was living in as part of a drug investigation.
A small piece of marijuana was found in his room, but the investigation centred on other people living in the house.
Degenhardt co-operated fully with police and had only moved into the house six days earlier.
When a person breaches a conditional sentence, the judge has the option of converting some or all of the house arrest period into prison time or imposing another sentence.
In this case, taking advice from both the crown and the defence Judge Brian Fraser opted not to sanction Degenhardt and allow his sentence to continue as is.
Fraser did warn Degenhardt he needed to associate with better people if he really wanted a clean break from his past crimes.
“I suggest you have a good hard look at your circle of friends.”
