A local man who struck a former partner with a metal pipe and caused thousands of dollars in damage to her apartment has been sentenced to nine months in jail.
Brent Boissoneau-Stone pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, mischief, resisting police and breach of probation when he appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom on Monday.
City police received a call on June 2 about a disturbance and the sound of breaking glass at a neighbour's downtown residence.
When officers arrived, the woman was on the steps of the building and Boissoneau-Stone was berating her, Ontario Court Justice Melanie Dunn heard.
The victim told them she had been napping on her bed and was woken up by him.
He grabbed her wallet and wanted grocery money, prosecutor Robert Skeggs said.
The accused smashed multiple apartment windows, and struck the woman with the pipe.
Boissoneau-Stone also damaged other items, including dishes, a TV, a table and an antique desk.
When the cops attempted to arrest him, he took off, and continued to try to pull away as they took him into custody.
The Crown and defence lawyer Anthony Orazietti jointly recommended the nine-month jail term, less credit for his client's pre-sentence custody.
They also called for three years probation, the maximum permitted under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Boissoneau-Stone, 25, has a criminal record that includes two previous convictions for assault with a weapon, as well as assaulting a police officer.
"He is a recidivist with a record for similar offences of violence," Skeggs said.
What occurred in June was intimate partner violence — the couple had a relationship for a year before this, the assistant Crown attorney told the court.
The accused struck the victim with a pipe, "a serious thing to hit somebody with," he said.
As well, he caused $4,500 in damage.
Orazietti said his client is a Garden River First Nation member whose family has a residential school background.
He was kicked out of his home at age 12, grew up in Sault Ste. Marie — where he "essentially had to raise himself" — and hasn't spoken to his dad in 20 years.
He has substance abuse issues, completed treatment at a Manitoulin Island facility and was working.
"Unfortunately he relapsed," Orazietti said, adding there are Gladue factors, and the "guilty pleas show remorse."
With the enhanced credit of 1.5 days for each day he has spent in custody since his arrest, Boissoneau-Stone faces a further 33 days behind bars.
When she imposed the sentence, Dunn noted the Gladue factors, the violence and substance abuse in the man's background.
He has taken active steps to deal with his substance abuse but later relapsed, she said.
During his three-year probation, Boissoneau-Stone can have no contact with the victim and must remain 50 metres away from her.
As well, he must take any recommended assessments, counselling and rehabilitation programs for domestic violence and substance abuse.
Dunn banned him from possessing weapons for the rest of his life.
She also imposed a $4,500 stand-alone restitution order.