Woman jailed for assault and theft at shelter
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on March 23, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
A woman who demanded money for providing protection services in jail, has been sent to jail for beating up the woman she claimed she was protecting.
Kimberlie Rose Eagle Speaker was sentenced in Lethbridge provincial court earlier this month to seven months in jail for several criminal offences, including assault and theft during an incident at the homeless shelter last October.
Eagle Speaker had approached another woman and said because she had protected the woman while she was in jail, she had to pay up for those protective services.
“(The victim) had recently received some money through AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped), and Miss Eagle Speaker wanted some of that money in payment,” Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles told court.
When the woman refused to pay, Eagle Speaker pushed and punched the woman who fell to the ground and curled up into a ball to protect herself. Eagle Speaker also pulled on the woman’s hair hard enough to tear out a handful.
Shelter employees separated the two and took the victim into the building. Eagle Speaker attempted to enter, as well, but was held back by staff. She then stole the victim’s shopping cart which contained all of her personal belongings.
Eagle Speaker also pleaded guilty to theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, possession of a firearm without a licence, possession of a firearm in a vehicle, possession of a firearm while prohibited, breach of a probation order, and failure to comply with a DNA order.
At about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 a Lethbridge resident was awakened by Eagle Speaker knocking on his window. The resident recognized Eagle speaker as one of his students he taught between 2003 and 2007.
The man allowed Eagle Speaker to come in and warm up, but said she couldn’t stay long because he had to rise at 5 a.m. the following day for work. She left about 45 minutes later, and he went to bed, but when he arose a few hours later, he discovered his keys and vehicle were gone.
Police reviewed video surveillance which showed Eagle Speaker leaving the man’s residence, walking around his vehicle and driving away.
The following month, at about 11 a.m. on Jan. 18 of this year, police were at the homeless shelter during an encampment cleanup and noticed a car parked nearby. Eagle Speaker, whom a police officer recognized, was sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, which had earlier been reported stolen.
“She appeared to be attempting to obscure her appearance, and her passenger seemed to be grabbing items in the vehicle…and shoving them into bags,” Giles said.
Eagle Speaker attempted to drive away but the car was pinned between the officer’s vehicle and a City of Lethbridge vehicle that was parked behind her. Eagle Speaker was arrested, and during a search of the vehicle officers found money and a bullet on the dashboard, bags of clothing on the back seat, and a Winchester .30-30 lever action rifle in the trunk.
Giles, who noted the rifle did not belong to the owner of the vehicle, expressed concern that Eagle Speaker was in possession of a rifle, even though she had previously been prohibited for life from possessing any firearms, let alone a large-calibre rifle.
“This is an honest-to-goodness, straight up, shoot-a-deer-dead-with-the-first-shot-if-you-get-it-in-the-right-spot kind of rifle.”
Giles recommended Eagle Speaker be sentenced between 10 and 12 months in jail, and noted she was, at the time of the offences, on probation for a robbery in March of 2022.
Lethbridge lawyer Scott Hadford, however, recommended a sentence of between four and seven months, and while he acknowledged her behaviour is “socially unacceptable,” he pointed out assessments of her personal circumstances and aboriginal heritage indicate hardships beyond anything he’s seen before.
Scott described years of drug addiction, homelessness and trauma, and living life moment to moment, not knowing how she’s going to eat, where she’s going to sleep or how she’s going to feed her addiction.
“My friend’s quote is, ‘she’s had a difficult life.’ She hasn’t had a difficult life, her life is the thing of nightmares,” Hadford said.
Judge John Maher sentenced Eagle Speaker to seven months in jail, minus two and a half months she spent in remand custody. And while he agreed with a sentence of three months just for the assault and theft at the homeless shelter, he did so reluctantly.
“To steal the worldly possessions from someone else who’s homeless, is devastating to that other person,” Maher said. “Steal some of my stuff, I can live with it; that’s not all my worldly possessions. I’m surprised that you would lack the empathy to restrain you from doing that.”
Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter
24-23
OMG. Throw away the key.
How many are not allowed to use the shelter facilities now? They have been band and for good reason. It is very unsafe for the staff and fellow shelter users.