R. v. Meade, 2022 BCPC 149

Citation: R. v. Meade 2022 BCPC 149 Date: 20220607 File No: 75968-1 Registry: Prince George IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REGINA v. JESSE DEAN MEADE REASONS FOR SENTENCE OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE M. J. BRECKNELL Counsel for the Crown: B. Bouchard Counsel for the Defendant: T. Lagemaat, appearing by videoconference Place of Hearing: Prince George , B.C. Date of Hearing: June 7, 2022 Date of Judgment: June 7, 2022 [ 1 ] THE COURT: Jesse Dean Meade comes before the Court today having pleaded guilty on Information 75968 to two counts on

[ 1 ] THE COURT: Jesse Dean Meade comes before the Court today having pleaded guilty on Information 75968 to two counts on which the Crown has proceeded by indictment, Count 1 being a charge of robbery on September 17, 2021, and Count 3 being a charge of possession of stolen property under $5,000 on the same date. For the purposes of this sentencing, I mark the Presentence Report as Exhibit 1; the Psychological Report authored by Dr. Breitman, forensic psychiatrist, as Exhibit 2; and Mr. Meade's JUSTIN conviction report as Exhibit 3.

I have reviewed all those documents in detail and rely upon the information in them in arriving at the appropriate sentence. [ 2 ] The Crown and defence have submitted a joint submission for sentence for Mr. Meade which, in

summary, would be the equivalent of two years in jail less time served and a 36-month probationary period. I will be accepting that joint submission and will go through the details of those orders later in this decision. [ 3 ] Mr. Meade's personal history is well documented in the two reports, but it would be appropriate for me to summarize that he grew up in a very chaotic and dangerous family situation from time to time. He was abused by people residing in his home at a very young age. He was, along with his brother, placed in foster care. Some of those placements were good.

Many of them were in themselves very dangerous to him and his brother. He missed out on a lot of things that one would hope a child would have available to them growing up, including loving caregivers and being treated with dignity and respect.

In one of the circumstances while he was growing up, one of the caregivers was attacking his brother and he intervened, and as a result of his intervention with the caregiver, he was hospitalized and then prohibited from returning to that home. [ 4 ] The one very close person in his life was his brother who, unfortunately, passed away as a result of an illicit drug interaction and, adding to the grief of losing his brother, he has had disagreements with family members about how his brother should be honoured.

That in itself undoubtedly interferes with his ability to bring closure to that very difficult situation. [ 5 ] His counsel points out, and it is mentioned in the Presentence Report, that Mr. Meade is, and I will use the common term, gay and as Mr. Lagemaat points out, unfortunately, in certain areas of the province including some components of this community, being a person who is gay is in itself potentially a dangerous situation.

Rather than just accepting that different people have different attractions and different ways of living their lives, some people in some communities feel it necessary to victimize those people further. [ 6 ] Mr.

Meade has had some difficulties in his interpersonal relationships including one in which he very seriously attacked his partner and spent considerable time in jail as a result. [ 7 ] He has limited education, but has had some work experience and it certainly is the hope of the Court that, while he is in custody finishing his sentence, he will take the opportunity to try to improve his education because, without a good backbone of education, he will find it difficult to find anything more than menial employment upon his release. [ 8 ] Mr.

Meade has through his entire life, and undoubtedly partly due to the way he was raised, been struggling with mental health issues. He suffers from depression. He has from time to time had suicidal ideations and, to be perfectly blunt, he has not really assisted himself in that regard by self-medicating with street drugs. He is now taking some prescription medications to address some of his issues and he is agreeing to have an order requiring him to continue along that course of action upon his release. [ 9 ] There is some anecdotal information that Mr.

Meade is on the fetal alcohol spectrum and that he suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and, although a lot of his behaviour certainly could be attributed to those two diagnoses. Dr. Breitman was unable to categorically confirm those diagnoses. [ 10 ] Mr. Meade has a very serious criminal history for one so young. His adult criminal history begins in December of 2014 and includes a number of property offences and breaches of court orders from time to time, but most importantly with regard to this sentencing, he has convictions for assault, assault with a weapon, and aggravated assault.

From 2015, in which he committed three assaults; 2016, in which he committed two offences of assault with a weapon in 2016; and 2017 where he was convicted of aggravated assault and received a sentence of approximately two years and three months' total time in jail. [ 11 ] On September 17, 2021, Mr. Meade was in the London Drug Store here in the city of Prince George doing what a lot of street people describe as shopping, in other words, he was going up and down the aisles of the store loading things up that he intended not to pay for, but to simply walk out of the store with.

He was confronted by one employee and, as a result of that, he moved the products he was trying to steal from a suitcase into a shopping cart and then he proceeded to try to leave the store without paying. By happenstance, a store employee, Ms. Breu, was outside and, when she turned to come back in, she saw Mr. Meade and he saw her. At that point, he had in his hand a knife which was, according to Ms. Breu, pointed at her chest. [ 12 ] There is some discrepancy as to how big the knife blade was. Ms. Breu describes it as a seven-inch-long blade. Mr.

Meade's counsel says it was between four and six inches long, but I think any civilian confronted by a person in a rather deranged state holding a knife, her estimate of seven inches is not that far off. It was a knife that could have done serious injury to somebody and, in fact, caused Mr. Meade an injury because, after he put it in his pocket to run away, by the time he was arrested by the police, that knife had stuck into his own leg which is indicative, of course, that it was sharp enough to cause injury. [ 13 ] Mr. Meade fled and the police went looking for him in the mall.

When they eventually found him, he was still with the shopping products he had taken from London Drugs and they also found some items that had been stolen from the Atmosphere store in the same mall. It is those products that make up the items in Count 3 of possession of stolen property. [ 14 ] Now, in any situation in which a person pleads guilty or is found guilty, the Court must review aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Here, the aggravating factors are pretty clear: the violence of the event, in other words, the pointing of the knife at Ms. Breu; the criminal history of Mr.

Meade which indicates that he has, at least up until now, been quite prepared to resort to violence in circumstances; and finally, I consider it a troubling, perhaps even aggravating, circumstance that, on one hand, Mr. Meade says that a lot of his problems arise because people do not take charge of him and tell him what to do and somehow it is their fault for not doing so, but on the other hand, he says, "Well, I don't want to be told I have to go to treatment. I want to figure that out on my own." [ 15 ] On the other hand, there are mitigating factors, in other words, positive factors. Mr.

Meade has accepted responsibility for his

actions unreservedly. He understands the circumstances of what occurred on that day and he understands and has enunciated to me his belief that Ms. Breu was traumatized by these events and he feels sorry for that. [ 16 ] A second mitigating factor is that he has pleaded guilty to these offences without any delay or hesitation whatsoever. The delay and hesitation here, came as a result of having to prepare reports.

But he did not dance around about this and then suddenly pop up on the day of trial and say, "Well, I'll plead guilty now," That is important, and it is not important because it saved the court system money, people talk about that all the time. It is important because Mr. Meade accepted responsibility early on and did not want to have anybody be confused about the fact that he was not going to get this matter resolved and, certainly, that would have allowed the Crown to tell Ms. Breu that they would not be needing her to give evidence at the trial. [ 17 ] Mr.

Meade's upbringing is concerning, but I am unable to describe that as a mitigating factor because, as I said earlier, there are many people in our community who are raised in chaotic households, there are many people in our community who are victims of crimes, there are many people in our community who are poorly treated by those in charge of their care, but not all of them go on to commit crime. Some of them either through their own resilience or by reaching out for community resources find a way to make their way through their life without becoming participants in the criminal justice system. [ 18 ] Mr.

Meade is now at the position in his life where he has some serious choices to make. He can continue down the road that he has been intermittently involved in with criminal behaviour in part arising from drug addiction and what results from that, having to steal, having to rob, having to engage in violence. That is one path. He can go down that path and, if he does, there will be more drugs and more violence and more time in jail or, as Mr.

Lagemaat has quite correctly pointed out, maybe his death as a result of a drug overdose. [ 19 ] The other choice, of course, is to use the remainder of the time he is going to serve in custody and his time during probation to reach out and get assistance from resources in the community and he has a plan for that. His plan is to go to Williams Lake where he has built a rapport with certain social service agencies, where he has some support of family and friends, and to try to point himself in the right direction.

If he does that and participates in programming that will assist him, we would be fortunate in him not coming back before the criminal justice system. [ 20 ] Mr. Meade, please stand up, sir. [ 21 ] Sir, on Information 75968, in Count Number 1, I agree with the lawyers that the appropriate sentence would have been 730 days in custody. You have 396 days' worth of credit. That leaves 334 days left to serve, Madam Clerk. Now, Mr. Meade, you have been in the jail system before. You know 334 days is not really 334 days. It is somewhat less.

If you behave yourself, you will get remission time for that. [ 22 ] That sentence is concurrent on both counts. I consider it to be one event that occurred on the same day at the same time. [ 23 ] After you are released from custody, sir, you will be on probation for 36 months. Thirty-six months is the longest probation order I am entitled at law to give to you and I do so because the lawyers have suggested it. So the probation order will be for 36 months. The terms and conditions will be as follows. [ 24 ] 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 probation officer of any change of employment or occupation. [ 25 ] You must have no contact or communication directly or indirectly with Christina Breu. [ 26 ] You must not go to or be within 100 metres of any place where Christina Breu lives, works, attends school, worships, or happens to be. If you see them, you must leave their presence immediately without any words or gestures.

The one exception, will be "While in a moving vehicle on your way to some other place." [ 27 ] You must not go to the Parkwood Mall located at 1600 15th Avenue, Prince George, British Columbia, including any parking lots, lands, or buildings located at that mall. [ 28 ] You must report in person to a probation officer at 101 - 250 George Street, Prince George, British Columbia, within one business day after you are released from custody unless you have obtained, before your release from custody, written permission from the probation officer to report elsewhere or within a different timeframe.

After that, you must report as directed by your officer. [ 29 ] Now, I will stop right there for a minute, Mr. Meade. If you know you are going to be heading to Williams Lake, talk to the probation people before you get released and find out whether they want you to report here first and then go to Williams Lake to report or whether they are just going to set you up with reporting in Williams Lake. If you do not do that, you have got to come and report in Prince George on your release.

Then you can tell them, "I'm heading to Williams Lake," and they will set you up with reporting there. [ 30 ] When first reporting to your probation officer, you must provide them with the address where you live and your phone number. You must not change your address or phone number without notifying your officer in writing at least two days in advance of any change. [ 31 ] You must attend, participate in, and complete any intake assessment, counselling, or education program as directed by your probation officer. [ 32 ] Now, I am going to stop there for a moment.

Some communities and I do not know about Williams Lake, I do know about Prince George, but some communities have a hospice house. Those hospice houses, in addition to caring for people who are dying, often offer grief services to the family members of the person who has died. It does not matter whether they died last week or five years ago. You might want to find out whether there is any services in Williams Lake that offer grief counselling.

It can be done sometimes through a hospice house, sometimes it is done through a church organization, sometimes it is done privately, but a lot of the anguish that you feel and have felt since your brother's death may be assisted as you work your way through it by the expertise of somebody with

knowledge in that area. [ 33 ] Having consented in court, you must do the following: (1) report to Forensic Psychiatric Services or elsewhere for any intake, assessment, counselling, or treatment as directed by your probation officer; (2) attend all scheduled appointments with the professionals in charge of your mental healthcare; (3) take all medications and medical treatment prescribed to you by those professionals; (4) provide your probation officer with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of those professionals; (5) give those professionals a copy of this order; (6) if you decide not to follow these directions, you must immediately report that fact to your probation officer; and you have consented in court to those professionals notifying your probation officer if you fail to attend for an appointment or refuse to take the prescribed treatment or medications. [ 34 ] You must not possess directly or indirectly any weapon as defined by the Criminal Code . [ 35 ] You must not possess any knife outside your residence, except for the immediate preparation or eating of food.

The exceptions are as follows - with the prior written permission of your probation officer.

You must carry the permission, which may be in electronic format, when you possess knives outside your residence. [ 36 ] I put that in there, sir, for the purposes of, if you get a job, you know, at Walmart and your job is to cut up boxes and put them in the compression machine, you may need to possess a boxcutter, for example, I do not want you to be in breach. [ 37 ] So those are the terms of the probation, sir. [ 38 ] Next, I have to turn to what is called the ancillary orders. [ 39 ] Does the Crown take any position on the victim of crime surcharge? [ 40 ] CNSL B.

BOUCHARD: No position, Your Honour. [ 41 ] THE COURT: Pursuant to s. 737(2.1) of the Criminal Code , I am satisfied, because of your precarious financial circumstances and the fact you will be in custody for a lengthy period of time, the surcharge would cause an undue hardship to you and I order that you pay no surcharge. On both counts, Madam Clerk. [ 42 ] Pursuant to s. 109(3) of the Criminal Code , you are prohibited from possessing any firearm, crossbow, restricted or prohibited weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, or explosive substance for life. [ 43 ] Now, I will pause there again, sir.

I mean there has been no suggestion, as far as I know, that you ever used a firearm and if, at some point in your exploration of your Indigenous past and cultural identity, you wish to participate in sustenance hunting or cultural hunting, you can apply to the Chief Firearms Officer to try to get the prohibition amended or reduced. [ 44 ] Finally, the DNA order. Count 1 on Information 75968 is a primary designated offence. Pursuant to s. 487.051(1) of the Criminal Code , I authorize the taking of samples of bodily substances from you.

The samples will be taken from you while you are in custody and you must submit to the taking of the samples. [ 45 ] Next, pursuant to s. 491(1) (

a) of the Criminal Code , I am satisfied that the knife was used in the commission of an offence and I order that it be forfeited to Her Majesty to be disposed of or otherwise dealt with at the discretion of the Attorney General. [ 46 ] THE CLERK: On both counts, Your Honour? [ 47 ] THE COURT: No, only on Count 1, Madam Clerk. [ 48 ] THE CLERK: Thank you. [ 49 ] THE COURT: Finally, sir, with your consent, I order that Psychological Report prepared by Dr. Breitman be provided to the probation officer at Community Corrections to assist in your programming upon your release. [ 50 ] Anything further, Mr.

Bouchard? [ 51 ] CNSL B. BOUCHARD: Crown directs a stay of proceedings on the balance of the counts. [ 52 ] THE COURT: Thank you. That is two and four, I think, Madam Clerk. Anything further, Mr. Lagemaat? [ 53 ] CNSL T. LAGEMAAT: Nothing further, Your Honour, thank you. [ 54 ] THE COURT: Mr. Meade, I have read the terms of probation to you. Do you understand those terms? [ 55 ] THE ACCUSED: I do. [ 56 ] THE COURT: Do you have any questions about any of those terms?

You will get the opportunity of having it read to you more than once between now and the end of your sentence so I will just leave it at that for now. [ 57 ] Thank you, sir. (REASONS CONCLUDED)