R. v. Wilder, 2022 BCPC 310

Citation: R. v. Wilder 2022 BCPC 310 Date: 20220902 File Nos: 30888-2-C, 30888-3-C Registry: Prince Rupert IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REGINA v. AMANDA DAWN WILDER REASONS FOR SENTENCE OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE D. PATTERSON Counsel for the Crown: K. Schille Counsel for the Defendant: E. Murphy Place of Hearing: Prince Rupert , B.C. Dates of Hearing: June 13, June 14, and September 2, 2022 Date of Judgment: September 2, 2022

[ 1 ] THE COURT: These are my reasons for sentence. [ 2 ] Earlier today, Amanda Dawn Wilder entered a guilty plea on Information 30888-3-C to Count Number 1, which is the only count on the information, and I should note that the prosecution proceeded summarily on the information: Amanda Dawn WILDER, on or about the 28th day of July, 2021, at or near Prince Rupert, in the Province of British Columbia, did carry or have in her possession a weapon, a machete, for a purpose dangerous to the public peace or for the purpose of committing an offence, contrary to Section 88(1) of the Criminal Code . [ 3 ] At approximately three in the morning on July 28, 2021, the RCMP received a telephone call stating that Ms.

Wilder was in the underground parking lot beneath the CIBC, in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and had a machete in her possession. [ 4 ] My understanding from what has been told to me today by the prosecutor and defence counsel is that Ms. Wilder had been picking berries earlier in the day. She had the machete with her for that purpose and possibly also as protection because she has gone through bouts of homelessness and is a person who has experience on the streets.

Whether while living in Prince Rupert or elsewhere, she understands that sometimes the streets can be dangerous. [ 5 ] The police attended to the CIBC and entered the underground, where they found Ms. Wilder. The police felt she was high on methamphetamine and possibly drunk from vodka. About five feet from Ms. Wilder, a machete was on the ground. Police arrested her for possessing the weapon for a dangerous purpose. During the arrest, she pulled away from the police. [ 6 ] Once back at the police detachment, Constable Spencer searched Ms. Wilder incidental to arrest.

When Constable Spencer went to remove a ring from Ms. Wilder that was very special to her; she took exception. She squeezed Constable Spencer's thumb in such a manner that she caused Constable Spencer injury. Constable Spencer felt pain for several days after that. [ 7 ] Ms. Wilder has suffered throughout her life from many difficulties, some of which are her own doing and some of which are other people's doing. She had a difficult upbringing with an alcoholic father. Her mother moved her west to British Columbia. She has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, commonly known as ADHD.

She also has a genetic heart murmur. She has mental health issues and, as Ms. Murphy stated, she has self-medicated over the years with both alcohol and drugs. [ 8 ] Ms. Wilder has been described to the court as a kind, well-meaning individual. Once you get to know her, she appears to be a calm, kind, and perhaps even personable individual. I have no doubt that she is remorseful for what happened. [ 9 ] Sometimes it is difficult for people to appreciate the realities of people's lives on the streets.

Many people involved with the criminal justice system suffer from dysfunction in their personal lives and relationships, often because they do not have suitable housing, good jobs, regular paycheques or loved ones around them. [ 10 ] I do have empathy for people that live on the street. One of the advantages of being a judge in a smaller community is getting to know people.

You get to see people, and even if you do not know them on a name basis or a "hi" basis, you see them on the streets, and you think to yourself, "Boy, am I lucky to be where I am and, boy, do I wish that person had it better." [ 11 ] The court's job is not to solve all of society's problems. In other judgments, I have opined on mental health issues and the criminal justice system's use in situations where a mental health issue is the problem. [ 12 ] I am sure I did not get all of the facts from the prosecutor in this case. That is the nature of a joint submission. Counsel knows what went on.

They tell the court what the court needs to know about the individual and the circumstances that brought the individual to court. The JUSTIN conviction list is marked as Exhibit Number 1 on the sentencing. Based on what I have been told, Ms. Wilder has gone thirteen and a half years between the time of her last conviction and this incident.

She obeyed and complied with the undertaking she was released on and wants to get on with her life. [ 13 ] I agree that a suspended sentence with a term of probation is appropriate in the circumstances. [ 14 ] I'm not convinced that one year of probation is the appropriate amount of time. I will allow counsel an opportunity to address me on that. Still, given that it has been 13 months already since the offence, my thinking is that a further six months of probation, which would make it a total of 19 months under court order, would be more than adequate in the circumstances of this case. [ 15 ] CNSL K.

SCHILLE: Crown has no issue with that, and the Crown will withdraw the joint submission tag essentially. [ 16 ] THE COURT: Thank you. [ 17 ] CNSL E. MURPHY: Thank you, Your Honour, and I agree it is very appropriate. The advantage of some probation is that hopefully Ms. Wilder will get some support through Community Corrections, so thank you. [ 18 ] THE COURT: All right. [ 19 ] You can remain seated, but there will be a probation order for a term of 6 months. The terms of which will be as follows. [ 20 ] 2001, you must keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

You must appear before the court when required to do so by the court. You must notify the court or the probation officer in advance of any change of name or address and promptly notify the court or the officer of any change of employment or occupation. [ 21 ] 2002, you must have no contact or communication, directly or indirectly, with Lisa Trimble or Bernard Eaton. There is a single exception to that and that single exception is for the purpose of preparing a written apology through your probation officer which can be provided by your probation officer to Lisa Trimble and/or Bernard Eaton.

[ 22 ] 2101, you must report in person to a probation officer at the Community Corrections Office in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, the address and telephone number of which will be put into the document for you, by 3 p.m. today. After that you must report as directed by your probation officer. [ 23 ] 2202, when first reporting to your probation officer you must provide him with the address where you live and your telephone number. You must not change your address or telephone number without notifying your officer in writing at least two days in advance of any change.

If you are homeless or do not have a regular residential address you must notify your probation officer of where you regularly sleep and the area where you are regularly located. [ 24 ] THE ACCUSED: Yes. [ 25 ] THE COURT: All right? [ 26 ] THE ACCUSED: Yes. [ 27 ] THE COURT: There is nothing wrong with being homeless other than the fact that you are homeless, but there is no shame to it. I know that is easy for me to say up here, but I deal with enough people that I need to get that message out. There is no shame.

It is just reality and I understand that. [ 28 ] 2501, you must attend, participate in, and complete any intake, assessment, counselling, or education program as directed by your probation officer. [ 29 ] 2515, you may apologize to Lisa Trimble and/or Bernard Eaton in the manner directed by your probation officer and to the satisfaction of your probation officer by no later than November 30, 2022. [ 30 ] THE ACCUSED: Can I say something? [ 31 ] Lisa [indiscernible/not near microphone] daughter [indiscernible] and she's my best friend, so [indiscernible] moved [indiscernible]. [ 32 ] THE COURT: So, she does not live in Prince Rupert? [ 33 ] THE ACCUSED: No, she's in [indiscernible/not close to microphone]. [ 34 ] THE COURT: All right, so I am not banning you from having contact with her, but you cannot in any way, shape, or form discuss her parents. [ 35 ] THE ACCUSED: Okay. [ 36 ] THE COURT: Send any messages, anything like that, because that is called indirect contact. [ 37 ] THE ACCUSED: [Indiscernible/not close to microphone]. [ 38 ] THE COURT: All right. [ 39 ] Mr.

Schille, the prosecutor, and Ms. Murphy, your lawyer, know that I am not always a rubber stamp, for lack of a better term, when it comes to weapons prohibitions and knives prohibitions. I would like there to be some tie-in, some rationale, especially in a situation like this where it is a discretionary order and not a compulsory order. I understand the reality of your life a little bit. Not fully obviously, we just met, but 2616, you must not possess any knife outside your residence except for the immediate preparation or eating of food. The exceptions are as follows.

While on your residential property or (b), with the prior written permission of your probation officer and you must carry that permission, which may be in an electronic format, when you possess knives outside your residence or off your residential property. So, if you can convince your probation officer that you need a knife in order to go berry picking or fishing, to get a fish or something, they just need to give you written permission and you can do so. Make sense? [ 40 ] THE ACCUSED: I do landscaping sometimes. [ 41 ] THE COURT: Or landscaping, classic example.

So, get a note ahead of time and they can give you permission. [ 42 ] THE ACCUSED: Yes. [ 43 ] THE COURT: If they say no and you have a job and you need it, then you are going to have come back before me and make an application for me to change the probation order and you will have to serve a copy of it on Mr. Schille's office downstairs. [ 44 ] THE ACCUSED: Yeah, no problem. [ 45 ] THE COURT: Okay? [ 46 ] THE ACCUSED: Mm-hmm. [ 47 ] THE COURT: Now, Mr. Schille, you have asked me to impose a s. 110(1)(

a) five-year discretionary weapons prohibition. I appreciate that there is probably a lot I was not told. I appreciate that there is an allegation here that force was used, and it was accepted as a fact, against Constable Spencer. My understanding is that force was her physical hand, not a weapon. Am I correct on that? [ 48 ] CNSL K. SCHILLE: That is correct, Your Honour.

[ 49 ] THE COURT: All right, so I am going to deviate from the joint submission. I am not going to impose a 110. She has been under one for the last 13 months. I have made the knife prohibition. She does not have a possession and acquisition licence, otherwise known as a Canadian Firearms Licence. Am I correct on that, Ms. Wilder? [ 50 ] THE ACCUSED: Yes. [ 51 ] THE COURT: With her criminal record, including this conviction, I suspect she would have a very difficult time.

So, any possession of those items I was banning would be unlawful for her in any event and she would be subject to a separate criminal offence. [ 52 ] CNSL K. SCHILLE: Crown takes no issue here. [ 53 ] THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Schille. [ 54 ] Ms. Murphy, you are okay with that? [ 55 ] CNSL E. MURPHY: Very much, thank you. [ 56 ] THE COURT: All right. [ 57 ] There is going to be one other condition, and again both lawyers will get an opportunity to discuss this with me, because one of the things that I think is missing is a restorative justice element.

Now, I appreciate that you are not an Indigenous person, but what the restorative justice is, it is a concept of trying to bring the community and offenders back together and make reparations for harm done and that is a fancy way of saying trying to make good for something that you did. So, in my view this would be an appropriate case for 20 community work service hours to be performed by no later than January 30 of 2023. [ 58 ] Mr. Schille? [ 59 ] CNSL K. SCHILLE: Your Honour, I think with the lesser length of the suspended sentence that is likely an appropriate condition. [ 60 ] THE COURT: Thank you. [ 61 ] Ms.

Murphy, did you need a moment to talk to your client? [ 62 ] CNSL E. MURPHY: Yes, Your Honour. [ 63 ] THE COURT: Thank you. You can explain to her what that means. [ 64 ] CNSL E. MURPHY: [Indiscernible/not near microphone]. [ 65 ] THE ACCUSED: [Indiscernible/not near microphone]. [ 66 ] CNSL E. MURPHY: Your Honour, Ms. Wilder sees benefits to it, thank -- to your proposal, thank you. [ 67 ] THE COURT: Well, thank you for that and interestingly enough the last individual that I did the same thing to, which was a couple weeks back, also said they could see benefits and possible employment come out of it.

So, again, give something back and also hopefully it makes you feel better about yourself as a human being. [ 68 ] THE ACCUSED: Thank you. [ 69 ] THE COURT: All right, so 2509, you must complete 20 hours of community work under the supervision and direction of your probation officer. Your community work service must be completed by January 30, 2023. [ 70 ] Any questions about any of those conditions? [ 71 ] THE ACCUSED: No. [ 72 ] THE COURT: Victim fine surcharge? [ 73 ] CNSL K. SCHILLE: Crown takes no position on that being waived due to her financial circumstances. [ 74 ] CNSL E. MURPHY: Thank you, Your Honour.

Given Ms. Wilder's financial circumstances it would be extremely difficult for her to pay a victim crime surcharge. Thank you. [ 75 ] THE COURT: All right. Pursuant to s. 737(2.1) of the Criminal Code , I am satisfied that because of your precarious financial circumstances the surcharge would cause an undue hardship to you. Accordingly, I order that you pay no victim fine surcharge. [ 76 ] This is a discretionary DNA order section, is it not, if you proceeded summarily? [ 77 ] CNSL K. SCHILLE: It is, Your Honour. Crown is not seeking a DNA order. [ 78 ] THE COURT: All right, thank you.

I will not be making a DNA order in this case then. [ 79 ] CNSL K. SCHILLE: And, Your Honour, at this point in time Crown enters a stay of proceedings on the dash 2-C information. [ 80 ] THE COURT: Thank you and has the one been PNI'd or stayed already?

[ 81 ] CNSL K. SCHILLE: It was PNI'd I believe, Your Honour. [ 82 ] THE COURT: Thank you very much. [ 83 ] All right, I am not waiving the requirement that a justice of the peace read the terms of the order to you and I am not waiving the requirement that you sign it. So, in the next 45 minutes to an hour you will go next door to the court registry. A justice of the peace will have the document. They will read you the terms. You will sign it and then what is the most important thing you need to do before 3 o'clock today? [ 84 ] THE ACCUSED: Probation office. [ 85 ] THE COURT: Probation office, exactly.

Good luck, Ms. Wilder, and I mean that. [ 86 ] THE ACCUSED: Thank you very much. [ 87 ] THE COURT: All right, thank you. (REASONS CONCLUDED)