Man sentenced for mischief and assault
By Shurtz, Delon on July 8, 2020.
Delon Shurtz
lethbridge herald
Kyle English may have been too drunk to remember causing problems in Galt Gardens nearly a year ago, but he was sober Monday when he was handed a jail sentence in Lethbridge provincial court.
English pleaded guilty to one count of mischief and two counts of assault stemming from incidents in the downtown park on Sept. 14, 2019. The 33-year-old man was in Galt Gardens during a music festival when he removed a manhole cover from an area where people were dancing, creating a danger for park users.
English was confronted by a member of the city’s Diversion Outreach Team and a security guard with Paladin Security. The guard, court was told, attempted to prevent English from removing the manhole cover, and told him to leave the park or the police would be called. Instead of leaving, English punched the guard in the chest.
The outreach team member also tried to get English to leave the park, but as he was escorting him to the outreach van, English struck him on the chin.
English, who appeared in court by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, couldn’t explain why he removed the manhole cover, but told the judge he assaulted his two victims because he felt they were bothering him and didn’t have any right to remove him from the park.
“I was standing up for myself,” he said.
Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles and Lethbridge lawyer Tracy Hembroff jointly recommended 45 days in jail on each of the two assault charges, and 15 days for mischief, and agreed the jail terms could be served concurrently. Giles noted English has a criminal record, which includes convictions for assault, uttering threats and mischief.
“I apologize to the community,” English said at the conclusion of Monday’s hearing. “It will never happen again.”
After already spending the equivalent of 45 days in pre-trial custody on the charges to which he pleaded guilty, English has served his sentence. He remained in custody, however, until Tuesday when he returned to court and pleaded guilty to breaching two previous release conditions.
Giles said English had been released from custody several months ago and ordered not to possess any weapons, but he was caught with a pocket knife Jan. 10 while he was at city hall.
Police were notified after English, who was intoxicated, was stopped by a security officer on the second floor of the building. English was arrested on outstanding warrants, and during a search police found the knife in one of his pockets.
He was arrested again last month after police received a complaint about two intoxicated people at a residence on the Blood Reserve. When police arrived they discovered English was with a woman with whom he had previously been ordered by the court to not have any contact.
English was fined $150 for each breach but he chose to serve the default time of one day in jail, instead. He returns to court July 17 to address additional charges.
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