A St. Albert man who smashed car windows and attacked his neighbour and her daughter was found guilty of assault and mischief on Monday.
In a day-long trial last month, St. Albert resident Matthew Borloi pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault and two counts of mischief – damage under $5,000.
Although Borloi admitted during his testimony he had smashed the windows and assaulted the victims, he claimed his actions were the result of years of mistreatment from his neighbours, and that one of his neighbours had provoked him into a state of manic psychosis.
In her decision, Justice Carrie-Anne Downey found that there were “elements of provocation” in the case.
Borloi in his testimony described a tense relationship between himself and neighbour Doreen Kerr. Kerr would taunt him by dancing on the line between their properties and smiling at his security camera, he claimed. He said Kerr and her husband, neighbour David O’Connor, would make jabs at his bipolar disorder and his sexuality.
He believed that Kerr poured a rust-coloured mixture of herbs and spices on his driveway in retaliation after Borloi painted a red line down the centre of the neighbours’ shared driveway. He told court he painted the line to create a visual “boundary” that signified he didn’t want to interact with Kerr or her family.
Seeing the stain on his portion of the driveway sparked a manic psychosis episode that led to him smashing the vehicle windows and, shortly after, assaulting Kerr and her adult daughter, who was at the home that morning to drop off her kids.
While the provocation defence can be used in some cases to drop a murder charge down to manslaughter, it is not available for assault or mischief charges except in cases of self-defence, Justice Downey said.
Defence lawyer Bukola Abioye argued Borloi was mentally unwell when he committed the crimes.
However, this argument only works for cases in which a defendant didn’t understand what they were doing was wrong, Downey said.
Borloi called the police on himself shortly after breaking the windows and assaulting Kerr and her daughter, Ashley Sturrock.
“He made an active and conscious choice, and further, knew it to be wrong, which is why he called police,” Downey said.
Borloi admitted to the assaults and to smashing the windows, Downey said.
She found no conflicting evidence between Borloi’s version of events and the details laid out by Crown prosecutor Ian Ross.
Downey said she had “some sympathy” for what Borloi told the court.
“I find his testimony to be genuine and forthright,” she said. “That said, it provides an explanation, but not a legal justification for his conduct.”
Downey ordered a pre-sentence report, which will give some background on Borloi that will be considered in his sentencing.
She noted the provocation Borloi described on the witness stand could work in his favour for sentencing.
Sentencing is set for late July.
