Supreme Court

R. v. Beaulieu, 2017 NWTSC 44

S-1-CR-2015-000131

Mr.

B.W.

Green:

Counsel

for

the

Crown

Mr.

C.B.

Davison:

Counsel

for

the

Accused

1

THE COURT CLERK:

Court is now reconvened.

2

Please be seated.

3

THE COURT:

Good morning.

Before I

4

proceed to sentence Mr. Beaulieu, do counsel have

5

anything further?

6

MR. GREEN:

I think the only issue we left

7

unresolved yesterday, Your Honour, was the

8

application of the victim of crime surcharge.  I

9

looked into this last night, and the -- the

10

mandatory wording came into force in October of

11

2013.

12

THE COURT:

And -- and is still in force,

13

I take it?

14

MR. GREEN:

And is

still in force, yes.

15

THE COURT:

Okay.

Good.

All right.

16

Do you agree with that?

17

MR. DAVISON:

I do, yes.

18

THE COURT:

All right.  So I -- I need not

19

do anything, it applies automatically, or do I

20

still need to make the order?

21

MR. GREEN:

I -- I think the practice is

22

to make the order on the record, yeah.

23

MR. DAVISON:

Yes.

24

THE COURT:

William Beaulieu now stands

25

convicted on the single-count Indictment that is

26

before the Court.

He is convicted of having

27

committed an aggravated assault on Martin --

1

Marlin Shae,

and an aggravated assault on Daniel

2

Jackson, in two separate incidents on the same

3

night into the early morning hours from September

4

16 to 17 -- excuse me, 2015.

5

Although I have not yet filed written

6

reasons for conviction, as I indicated I will do,

7

I have heard

submissions on sentence and -- and

8

will now pronounce the sentence.

9

I will deal first with the circumstances of

10

the offence.

On the night in question,

11

Mr. Beaulieu

was drinking, contrary to one of the

12

terms of the

probation order he was on at the

13

time.  He was outside Rocky Beaulieu's house,

14

here in Fort

Smith, and came up behind Marlin

15

Shae and hit

and kicked him.

16

The only evidence of a possible motive comes

17

from what Daniel Starr said Mr. Beaulieu told

18

him, that he

beat up a guy who was going in and

19

out of Rocky

Beaulieu's house.  Presumably, this

20

was objectionable to either or both Rocky

21

Beaulieu and

William Beaulieu.

22

Mr. Shae suffered serious injuries, multiple

23

facial fractures, a skull fracture, and an

24

epidural hematoma.  He had a laceration to the

25

back of his head that required five stitches to

26

close.

27

He testified that his eye throbbed for a

1

month or two after the assault, and he lost

2

feeling in the side of his face for a while.  He

3

also had sore ribs for about a month.

He was

4

treated in hospital in Edmonton but did not have

5

surgery.

6

Later, in the early morning hours of

7

September 17, 2015, William Beaulieu met up with

8

Lorne Napier and Daniel Jackson.  They ended up

9

drinking in Daniel Jackson's basement.

10

Mr. Jackson wanted everyone to leave.

He and

11

Mr. Beaulieu argued and Mr. Beaulieu punched or

12

hit him in the face two or three times.

13

Mr. Jackson did not fight back, and, after a few

14

minutes and some further words exchanged between

15

them, Mr. Beaulieu hit him in the face again, two

16

or three times.

17

Mr. Jackson's injuries were a fractured

18

cheek bone and eye socket.  He testified that he

19

continues to suffer numbness in the right side of

20

his face and his jaw.

He was sent to Edmonton

21

for treatment, he did not require surgery.

22

Subsequent to the assault on Mr. Shae,

23

Mr. Beaulieu told Mary Abraham and Daniel Starr

24

about that assault.

Mary Abraham did not

25

describe Mr. Beaulieu as bragging about the

26

assault, just that he said, "I just beat the shit

27

out of Marlin Shae".

1

Daniel Starr did describe Mr. Beaulieu as

2

bragging that he beat up and kicked the guy going

3

in and out of Rocky's.

4

I accept that Mr. Beaulieu was bragging or

5

boasting, at least to Mr. Starr.  He may have

6

been, in effect, boasting when he told

7

Ms. Abraham.  He clearly was not telling them

8

about the assault on Mr. Shae in the hopes that

9

they would get help for Mr. Shae.

10

Mr. Beaulieu was arrested on these matters

11

on October 1st, 2015, and has been in custody

12

since then; a period of 19 months and 17 days.

13

As to Mr. Beaulieu's circumstances, I have the

14

benefit of a very thorough presentence report.

15

Mr. Beaulieu is now 40 years old, he is

16

Métis.

His childhood can be described as truly

17

sad and terrible.  The family was split up, he

18

was exposed to alcohol and drug abuse and general

19

chaos in his mother's home.

He was apprehended

20

by Social Services.

21

When he was 13 years old, both his parents

22

who had separated by then, died violent deaths

23

within a month of each other.

He was moved

24

around among family members, and, eventually,

25

adopted by his grandparents and spent some time

26

on the land with his grandfather, who was a

27

trapper.

He was sexually abused by a female

1

relative and later

by another youth at a

2

treatment centre.

He was physically disciplined

3

by being slapped by various relatives.

4

He started getting into trouble with the law

5

around age 13.  He reports that he began

6

experimenting with alcohol at age 8 or 9, and

7

drugs at age 13.

Mr. Beaulieu has suffered

8

further tragedy and trauma as an adult arising

9

out of the deaths of other relatives, and also

10

some close relatives suffering sexual assault.

11

He has been through homelessness and he has

12

lacked financial stability.

He has several

13

children, but does not see all of them, nor do

14

they all live in Fort Smith.

He has been in a

15

common-law relationship since 2011, and, prior to

16

being arrested, lived with his common-law spouse,

17

their biological child, and some of her five

18

children.  Although it is reportedly a committed

19

relationship, Mr. Beaulieu and his spouse have

20

struggled to maintain a home and resources to

21

raise their family.

22

Mr. Beaulieu has had employment as a

23

labourer, and is considered by at least one

24

employer who was interviewed by the probation

25

officer as a hard worker.

26

Mr. Beaulieu also has a lengthy criminal

27

record, beginning with a conviction for assault

1

in 1992, when he would have been 15 years old.

2

As a youth, he also had convictions for sexual

3

assault in 1993, break and enters, breaches of

4

court orders, and then robbery and escaping

5

lawful custody spanning the years 1993 to 1994.

6

He received, as punishment, various short

7

terms of secure custody, but, for the robbery,

8

was given

two years and six months secure

9

custody.

But the facts of the robbery are not

10

before me, but I would assume, in the

11

circumstances, that it was fairly serious.

12

As an adult, he has convictions for break

13

and enter, mischief, and other property crimes

14

from 1998 to 2013.  But of more concern on this

15

sentencing are his adult convictions for assault.

16

First, the conviction for assault causing bodily

17

harm in 2000 for which Mr. Beaulieu received four

18

years in jail.  Although I have not been told any

19

facts of that offence, the sentence suggests that

20

it was very serious.

21

Then there was an assault in 2006 for which

22

Mr. Beaulieu was sentenced to a jail sentence of

23

eight months and probation for two years.  There

24

is a conviction in 2010 for uttering threats for

25

which 14 months jail was imposed concurrent to

26

sentences imposed on other offences.  There is a

27

conviction in 2011 for an assault for which he

1

was sentenced to five months jail and 12 months

2

probation.

3

Mr. Beaulieu also has convictions as an

4

adult in 1998 and 2010 for carrying a concealed

5

weapon and possession of a weapon for a purpose

6

dangerous to the public peace.

7

The crimes of violence, the assaults, and

8

the threats, are, obviously, relevant as they

9

disclose a continuing pattern -- pattern of

10

violent behavior by Mr. Beaulieu against other

11

people.

12

I note that his last conviction of September

13

4, 2013, for two break and enters and taking a

14

motor vehicle without consent, resulted in a

15

total 24-month conditional sentence order,

16

followed by

a suspended sentence of 18 months

17

probation.

Mr. Beaulieu was still on that

18

probation when he committed the offence for which

19

I must now sentence him.

20

Although he was, according to the

21

presentence report, able to do quite well on the

22

conditional sentence order, it was not long at

23

all after it expired, in fact, by my

24

understanding, it would just have been a matter

25

of days that Mr. Beaulieu committed the assaults

26

on Mr. Shae and Mr. Jackson.

27

I accept, as the presentence report

1

indicates, as do the certificates that were filed

2

as Exhibit S-3, documenting Mr. Beaulieu's

3

completion of anger management and substance

4

abuse and other programs, that Mr. Beaulieu has

5

made an effort to change his behavior and his

6

life.

He seems to have some insight into his

7

behaviour and the bad choices he makes,

as

8

referred to in the presentence report.

However,

9

there is definitely an angry side to

10

Mr. Beaulieu, one that seeks to blame others, as

11

revealed in his interview with Constable Long.

12

The aggravating factors in this case are,

13

first:

That Mr. Beaulieu was on probation at the

14

time of the assaults.  With respect to the

15

assault on Mr. Shae, it is aggravating that he

16

came up behind him, leaving him no opportunity to

17

defend himself.  The fact that after assaulting

18

Mr. Shae, he went on to assault Mr. Jackson, is

19

also an aggravating circumstance, as is

20

his bragging to Mr. Starr about assaulting

21

Mr. Shae. And, of course, assaulting Mr. Jackson

22

in Mr. Jackson's own home is an aggravating

23

circumstance.

24

As to mitigating factors, normally, a guilty

25

plea is mitigating and will result in some and

26

often substantial reduction in the sentence that

27

would otherwise be imposed.  And that is because

1

it indicates remorse, and that the offender is

2

taking responsibility for his actions.  In this

3

case, Mr. Beaulieu tried, unsuccessfully, to have

4

his guilty plea withdrawn, and so I do not

5

consider and cannot consider that the plea

6

indicates remorse.

7

We did have a hearing on the facts, although

8

it was somewhat shorter than a full trial would

9

likely have been because the Rules of Evidence

10

are less stringent at this type of hearing.

11

I do want to make it clear that I am not

12

punishing Mr. Beaulieu for attempting to withdraw

13

his guilty plea, but that guilty plea, as a

14

result, simply does not have the mitigating

15

effect that it would otherwise.

16

I do take into account Mr. Beaulieu's

17

statement yesterday here in court that he is

18

sorry for what he has done.  I take into account

19

the Gladue and Ipeelee factors, which apply

20

because of Mr. Beaulieu's Métis heritage.

I have

21

no doubt that Mr. Beaulieu is caught in a cycle

22

of alcohol, negative effects from his terrible

23

childhood, violence, and other challenges common

24

in Aboriginal communities, and that these

25

challenges have led him to where he is now.

But

26

because of the serious effect his behaviour has

27

on other individuals, as in this case, and his

1

apparent inability, even as he was reaching his

2

40s, to break that cycle and overcome his violent

3

behaviour, there is no question that the

4

community has to be protected from him.

5

I do not ignore the prospect of

6

rehabilitation because Mr. Beaulieu has made

7

efforts, as I said.  However, at his age, and

8

with the seriousness of the assaults,

9

rehabilitation simply cannot be the Court's

10

primary concern.

11

The fact that any aggravated assault is to

12

be considered and treated as serious, is

13

reflected in the fact that parliament has set a

14

maximum sentence for aggravated assault at 14

15

years in jail.

16

I agree completely with Crown counsel's

17

submission that when an assault involves kicks or

18

punches to the head, it is only luck that the

19

assault does not result in death and a homicide

20

charge because of the vulnerability of that part

21

of the body.

22

The principles of sentencing are well-known.

23

They include rehabilitation, which I have already

24

mentioned.

They include denunciation and

25

deterrence.

Clearly, individual deterrence, in

26

other words, deterring Mr. Beaulieu from

27

committing further offences, has to be an

1

objective in this case.

A sentence must be

2

proportionate to the gravity of the offence and

3

the degree of the responsibility of the offender.

4

Here, as I have said, the assaults are

5

serious.  They are grave.

Mr. Beaulieu, after

6

all these years, must know that when he drinks,

7

he is aggressive and violent.  He knew he was not

8

supposed to be drinking because his probation

9

prohibited it, yet he drank and then attacked

10

these two individuals, whom he did not even know.

11

That is very blameworthy conduct.

12

I am satisfied, however, that the assaults

13

were not premeditated, rather, they were likely

14

spur-of-the-moment or uncontrolled reactions by

15

Mr. Beaulieu to things that he did not like.  For

16

example, Mr. Shae being at Rocky Beaulieu's

17

house; Mr. Jackson wanting everyone out of his

18

home.

19

I also have to consider restraint pursuant

20

to section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code, and

21

consider whether any sanctions, other than

22

imprisonment, would be appropriate, especially

23

because Mr. Beaulieu is Aboriginal and his

24

circumstances give rise to the principles in

25

Gladue.

26

In this case, it is clear that a sentence of

27

imprisonment is called for, but the restraint

1

factor is relevant to its length and I will bear

2

that in mind.

3

Counsel have submitted a number of cases,

4

all of which I have read.  I concur with the

5

remarks made by Justice Shaner in R. v. Thorn,

6

2013 NWTSC 8, that the range of sentences for

7

aggravated assault is very broad, which reflects

8

that such assaults can take many forms and

9

individual circumstances have to be taken into

10

account.

11

The assaults, in those cases, raise -- range

12

from a matter of months; for example, the

13

Jeremick'ca case, to several years, for example,

14

the Thorn case, which illustrates how widely

15

sentences for aggravated assault, even with

16

serious consequences to the victim, can vary.

17

In this case, Crown counsel seeks a sentence

18

of eight years, less credit for remand time,

19

which he concedes should be credited at a rate of

20

1.5 to 1.  Defence counsel seeks a sentence of

21

between 30 and 36 months, less credit for remand

22

time.

23

Considering there were two assaults, the

24

Crown's position would effectively reflect a

25

four-year sentence before remand credit for each

26

of the assaults, which was the sentence imposed

27

on Mr. Beaulieu for assault causing bodily harm

1

in 2000, some 17 years ago.  The defence

2

submission would reflect a sentence of 15 to 18

3

months on each of the assaults.

4

After his four-year sentences for assault

5

causing bodily harm -- sorry, after his four-year

6

sentence for assault causing bodily harm was

7

imposed in 2000, the two assaults of which

8

Mr. Beaulieu was later convicted resulted in

9

eight months and then five months plus probation.

10

So I can reasonably conclude that they were much

11

less serious assaults than the one that resulted

12

in the four-year sentence.

13

It is of great concern that Mr. Beaulieu

14

now, again, with the assaults that I am dealing

15

with today,

has increased the seriousness of his

16

behaviour.

When he spoke to the Court yesterday,

17

he said that he is learning in regarding to

18

controlling his behaviour, but, clearly, he still

19

has a lot to learn, and he has -- he now is at an

20

age where he has to learn, or he will not be

21

spending much, if any, time in the community.

22

I want to refer to Mr. Beaulieu 's testimony

23

at the plea withdrawal hearing, and in that

24

testimony, when he was talking to -- or speaking

25

to the Court about the night in question, he

26

stated that he was drinking at his auntie's place

27

where he had gone with his spouse and children,

1

and, of course,

he was not supposed to be

2

drinking at all, and should not have been

3

drinking in the

presence of the children.  Then

4

you all went --

then Mr. Beaulieu, his spouse,

5

and the children went home, they put the children

6

to bed, and Mr. Beaulieu had a couple more beer.

7

Then, he testified, at

the plea withdrawal

8

hearing, he went out.

And when asked by Crown

9

counsel, at that hearing, Why did you leave home?

10

His answer was,

I don't know.  I wanted to go out

11

and drink.

12

So the problem is, Mr. Beaulieu, that you

13

put drinking before your family.

That is really

14

the root of the

problem.  And there has been --

15

there have been

submissions made by your lawyer,

16

which I accept,

that witnesses say you are a good

17

father.  You speak about your family in the

18

presentence report, and you talk about wanting to

19

be a good father, but you are not putting your

20

family first by

this behavior, and that is

21

something that you really need to spend a lot of

22

time thinking about.

23

Stand, please, Mr. Beaulieu.

In my view,

24

considering all

of the circumstances, all of the

25

factors, and, in particular, the circumstances of

26

the offences, and Mr. Beaulieu's criminal record,

27

it would not be

inappropriate to impose a

1

sentence of two years on the first assault, the

2

one on Mr. Shae; and three years consecutive on

3

the second assault, the one on Mr. Jackson.

4

Because, as I said, it is an aggravating factor

5

that having assaulted Mr. Shae, he went on, and,

6

essentially, did it again.  That would be a total

7

sentence of five years.  I have considered that

8

carefully, and considered it globally, and, in my

9

view, that is still an appropriate total sentence

10

for Mr. Beaulieu's violent actions that night.

11

With credit of 29 months and eight days for

12

remand time, that leaves a sentence of 30 months,

13

plus 22 days, by my calculation, left to serve.

14

And so that is the sentence that I impose today.

15

There will also be a firearm and other

16

specified weapons prohibition order pursuant to

17

section 109 of the Criminal Code that will

18

commence today and expire ten years of

19

Mr. Beaulieu's release from imprisonment.

And

20

there will be the usual order for the taking of

21

Mr. Beaulieu's DNA, and the application of the

22

victim surcharge.

23

So, Mr. Beaulieu, I cannot -- you may sit

24

down now.

I cannot tell you how to conquer

your

25

demons.

I do not know what the answer is.

You

26

did well on the conditional sentence order,

27

apparently, but, for some reason, you just could

1

not stick with it.

And, as I have already said,

2

you left your family

at home and you went out and

3

you drank, and you must have known, based on your

4

past behaviour, that

that could lead to nothing

5

but trouble, nothing

but trouble.  Only you know

6

why you

did that, why you chose to do that that

7

night.

I --

I do not know.

I cannot tell why

8

you did it.

But, as

I said, you have to keep in

9

mind that when you do that sort of thing, you are

10

not putting your family first, you are not

11

thinking about your family.

Your being in jail

12

means that your family suffers the consequences,

13

and you need to see and understand, and you need

14

to think about the fact that you are most likely,

15

I am not going to say definitely, because there

16

has always hope, but

you are most likely

17

contributing to your

children getting caught up

18

in the same cycle of

alcohol and violence and a

19

parent who is not around because you are in jail

20

all the time.

You are most likely contributing

21

to them being caught

up in that same cycle that

22

you have been caught

up in yourself.  So you said

23

yesterday you are trying, I will accept that, but

24

you need to try a lot harder.

25

And you also need to think about the fact

26

that if you commit another offence, like the one

27

that I am -- that --

that I have just sentenced

1

you for, if you commit another assault on

2

someone, punch, kick someone in the head, there

3

is a very good chance that you will be looking at

4

a homicide charge.

Because there is a very good

5

chance that a person that is subjected

to that

6

kind of treatment from you would die.

And if you

7

are looking at a homicide charge, you are likely

8

looking at a life sentence.  So you need to think

9

about all those things.  I mean, you are not a

10

stupid man.

I can tell that from the presentence

11

report.  You have, obviously, thought about some

12

of these things in the past, and why you engage

13

in this behavior, but you need to think about it

14

a lot more and you need to do something about it.

15

So I am just going to leave that with you.

16

Counsel, I will thank you for your work on

17

this case.

I do not know if you have anything

18

further at this time, if not, we will adjourn.

19

MR. GREEN:

Nothing from Crown, Your

20

Honour.

21

MR. DAVISON:

No, nothing

else.

Thank you.

22

THE COURT:

All right.

Thank you.  We

23

will adjourn court then -- we will close court,

24

rather.

25

THE COURT CLERK:

All rise.

I declare the

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CERTIFICATE OF TRANSCRIPT

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I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the

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foregoing pages are a complete and accurate

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transcript of the proceedings taken down by me in

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shorthand and transcribed from my shorthand notes

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to the best of my skill and ability.

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Dated at the City of Edmonton, Province of

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Alberta, this 14th day of June, 2017.

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Certified Pursuant to Rule 723

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Of the Rules of Court

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__________________________

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Leanne Harcourt, CSR(A)

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Court Reporter

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