Gladue report delays sentencing
By Herald on November 18, 2020.
Delon Shurtz
Lethbridge Herald
dshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
A 26-year-old man waiting since September to be sentenced on several criminal charges is going to have to wait a little while longer.
Defence and the Crown are still waiting for the completion of a Gladue report, a type of pre-sentencing report the court orders when considering a sentence for an offender of aboriginal descent.
The report was ordered Sept. 29 when the accused, Anthony Douglas Johnston, pleaded guilty to charges of possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of stolen property under $5,000, flight from a peace officer, driving while prohibited, and possession of a weapon while prohibited from doing so.
The case was in Lethbridge provincial court Tuesday, where both Calgary lawyer Robin McIntyre and Crown prosecutor Bruce Ainscough said they had not yet received the report, or even an update on its status.
The report, which provides the court with personal circumstances and background of an accused, is often requested to help the judge determine an appropriate sentence.
According to an agreed statement of facts submitted to the court in September, a woman called police about 8 a.m. March 20 to report her Ford Explorer had been stolen. The woman called police again a few hours later and she was tracking her vehicle using GPS technology.
A police officer saw the vehicle and followed it into a Dairy Queen drive-through on Mayor Magrath Drive south, where he and an officer in a second unmarked police vehicle used their vehicles to trap the stolen truck.
Johnston, who saw one of the approaching vehicles and thought he was going to be struck, attempted to avoid the collision and drive away. The officer activated his emergency lights and siren, closed the distance, and caused the bumpers of both vehicles to collide. The Explorer spun out and hit an adjacent motel building, causing $75,000-$100,000 in damages.
Although the Explorer was stuck, Johnston put it in reverse, and for about 30 seconds attempted to flee. Officers approached both sides of the vehicle with their guns drawn, and Johnston and two passengers were arrested.
Inside the Explorer police found a canister of bear spray, and inside Johnston’s backpack they found a key for a Hyundai Elantra that had been stolen in March, and in which police found items belonging to Johnston.
The matter returns to court Dec. 2 for a sentencing hearing, pending the completion of the Gladue report.
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So that means Johnston is aboriginal and special treatment is being considered! The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states ALL are to be treated EQUAL under the law . . . this is a joke . . . when will this end!
Read the court reports. In each Indigenous case, the Defense attorney’s only defense is Gladue, and all judges must abide by it. Gladue states that all judges must do everything possible to avoid having an Indigenous person serve jail time.
On many Lethbridge social web sites, a common complaint is why these criminals (even if they have a lengthy criminal history) are receiving little to consequences for constantly victimizing innocent people. Well, it’s because of Gladue.