R. v. O’Soup Date:, 2016 BCPC 461

Citation: R. v. O’Soup Date: 20160803 2016 BCPC 461 File Nos: 60220-1, 77442-1, 79197-1, 200229-1, 214342-1 Registry: North Vancouver IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Criminal REGINA v. HOWARD SOLOMON O'SOUP ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE J. CHALLENGER Counsel for the Crown: B. MacFarlane Counsel for the Defendant: E. Cooper Place of Hearing: North Vancouver , B.C.

Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016 Date of Judgment: August 3, 2016 [ 1 ] THE COURT: All right. Well, I am taking into account all of those factors, Mr. O'Soup, in your background and the fact that you have what we suspect is fetal alcohol syndrome effect, directly as a result of your mother's experiences as a First Nations person. [ 2 ] THE ACCUSED: Yeah. [ 3 ] THE COURT: All of that serves to reduce your moral culpability for these offences. You are not a violent offender, but you do have to understand that you cannot go into people's homes. You just simply cannot.

With this history now, is it seven counts or six? [ 4 ] MR. MACFARLANE: There is six now and he has three or four previous. [ 5 ] THE COURT: Six counts now and with the equivalent of what will be more or less be a four-year sentence, plus probation, if you go into another home you may find a judge sentencing you to well into the 8- to 10-year federal range for a break and enter. Do you understand? We cannot tolerate it. It disrupts so much. People do not feel safe. Homes are our sanctuaries and that is why break and enters are one of the few property offences that carry a maximum life sentence.

Eventually it will get to the point where all the other factors will be outweighed by the need to protect society from someone going into their home. Those people are left for a long period of time – even if all that is taken is a package of cigarettes – feeling insecure, feeling violated. [ 6 ] THE ACCUSED: Yeah, I don't like that. [ 7 ] THE COURT: No. I am sure you do not, because you are a nice human being.

I can only hope that once you have finished this sentence, that whatever you do, you never enter another person's home again -- [ 8 ] THE ACCUSED: I won't. [ 9 ] THE COURT: -- in any circumstances because I would hate for that to happen. [ 10 ] THE ACCUSED: I won't. [ 11 ] THE COURT: To you and to your children and for Ms. Roman [phonetic]. So what I am going to do is on Informations 200229, 60220, 77442, I am going to impose a sentence -- sorry, you said it is 15 months plus -- I have a note here somewhere -- [ 12 ] MR. COOPER: One point five -- [ 13 ] THE COURT: Oh, 23 months.

So it will be actual time served of 15 months, credit for 23 months. [ 14 ] The probation order I am going to impose will attach to that sentence, and that will be concurrent on each of those informations and the probation will also be concurrent. On Information 214342 and 79197, on each information and on each count there will be a sentence of two years less a day, again concurrent, to be followed by three years' probation. So, Mr. O'Soup, that is five years. You will serve two-thirds of the two years less, I would think. [ 15 ] THE ACCUSED: What's that? [ 16 ] THE COURT: Sixteen months. [ 17 ] MR.

COOPER: Yes. [ 18 ] THE COURT: So that is going to be the time that you will actually spend in custody. They may release you on day parole earlier than that. I think you have to appreciate that overall your jail time on this is what the Crown originally asked for on the original count. So this is a break for you, and it is a break for you because of all your circumstances.

You have tried very hard in this process, and you were doing extremely well up to the time that you left Raven's Moon. [ 19 ] The probation is going to have the terms that you will keep the peace and be of good behaviour and appear before the court when required to do so by the court. [ 20 ] THE ACCUSED: Mm-hmm. [ 21 ] THE COURT: You must report in person within 72 hours of your release from custody to a probation officer at 100-233 West 1st Street in North Vancouver, and report thereafter as and when directed.

I am going to require that for the first year of your probation you report not less than once per month in person. [ 22 ] THE ACCUSED: Yeah. [ 23 ] THE COURT: Do you want it more often than that at the beginning? It does not -- I know you have had compliance issues but -- [ 24 ] MR. COOPER: Just some unlawfully at large -- unlawfully at large, escape lawful custody. [ 25 ] THE COURT: Yes.

[ 26 ] MR. COOPER: But there doesn't seem to be a lot of breaches. [ 27 ] THE COURT: But not a lot of fail to report there, okay. All right. You will abstain absolutely from the possession or consumption of alcohol or any drugs or substances scheduled in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act , save and except according to a medical prescription and then only according to the dosage prescribed. [ 28 ] You will attend for, accept, and complete to the satisfaction of your probation officer any counselling, to include but not limited to substance abuse management counselling or trauma counselling.

You will attend for, accept, and complete to the satisfaction of your probation officer any residential treatment or recovery program and complete same to the satisfaction of your probation officer. [ 29 ] When residing in any residential treatment or recovery centre, you will obey all the rules and regulations, including any curfew. [ 30 ] You will attend to -- have you been to the Warriors Against Violence Program? [ 31 ] THE ACCUSED: Yeah. [ 32 ] THE COURT: Do you want to go back there? [ 33 ] THE ACCUSED: Sure. [ 34 ] THE COURT: It is very helpful. [ 35 ] THE ACCUSED: Yeah. [ 36 ] THE COURT: All right.

You will attend to the Warriors Against Violence Program, or the Native Court Workers and Counselling Association, or any other First Nations support service, at the direction of your probation officer. You will attend for, accept, and complete any educational, vocational or job training programs as directed by your probation officer. [ 37 ] You will prepare a letter of apology to the satisfaction of your probation officer within the first three months of your period of probation, to be transmitted through the Office of Crown Counsel to the victims of your offences to which this probation order applies.

You can do that now. You can get it out of the way. [ 38 ] THE ACCUSED: Mm-hmm. [ 39 ] THE COURT: You can show your probation officer that you have already done it. [ 40 ] THE ACCUSED: Okay. [ 41 ] THE COURT: Okay. You can get some assistance either from your father or someone else -- [ 42 ] THE ACCUSED: Yes. [ 43 ] THE COURT: -- about having those letters prepared and sent. [ 44 ] I am also going to provide that you will participate in any Victim Offender Reconciliation Program to which the victims of your offences consent. So that means you may meet them in person and talk to them.

Sometimes that helps people in the future. They think about those faces and the people that they met or the children who were affected. [ 45 ] You are not to possess any tools outside your place of residence or outside your place of lawful employment. [ 46 ] You are not to possess any keys or lock-picking devices other than keys to your own dwelling or place of employment. [ 47 ] You are not to be found in the 5600 block of 201A Street in Langley, British Columbia. You are not to be found in the 200 block East 16th Street in North Vancouver.

You are not to be found in the 500 block of 11th Street in New Westminster. You are not to be found in the 1400 block of Fir Street in White Rock. You are not to be found in the 1000 block of 6th Avenue in New Westminster, British Columbia. [ 48 ] Are there any other terms that we need to impose? Is this a firearms -- I don't think a curfew is -- I think most of these are daylight offences. [ 49 ] MR. MACFARLANE: They are. There's nothing from the Crown perspective, I submit, you missed. [ 50 ] THE COURT: Okay. Any comments or concerns about any of those probationary terms? [ 51 ] MR.

COOPER: No, Your Honour. [ 52 ] THE COURT: All right, Howard, good luck. I hope you do well. [ 53 ] THE ACCUSED: Thank you. [ 54 ] THE COURT: You are welcome. [ 55 ] Oh, the victim fine surcharges are waived. I find he does not have the ability to pay. One day in default, concurrent to the sentence imposed, concurrent. (REASONS FOR SENTENCE CONCLUDED)