City man sentenced to 44 months in prison
Aaron Glen Narvey, 32, pleaded guilty this summer to assaults on mother, brother, cop
A judge said Thursday a Fredericton man’s assaults on family members and a police officer were aggravating issues, but he had to factor in the offender’s unfortunate background, addictions and mental health.
Judge Cameron Gunn sentenced Aaron Glen Narvey, 32, of no fixed address, to 44 months in prison Thursday, less credit for time he’d served on remand since his arrest.
Narvey has been in custody since early March, and Gunn noted that after the customary 1½-to-one remand credit was applied, that means his prison term going forward is about 34 months, just shy of three years.
Narvey pleaded guilty in July to numerous crimes.
Among them were a Sept. 14, 2022, breach of probation; an assault on his mother Shelley Brewer, damage to her property and another probation violation Sept. 25, 2022; and a failure to attend court Nov. 14.
But the more serious offences were an assault on a city police officer with a car, flight from police, possession of a stolen car, dangerous driving and a breach of probation Oct. 13, 2022; and assaults with a weapon (bear spray) on his mother and brother Kristopher Narvey, unlawful confinement of his mother, threats to her, and breaches of his probation and a police undertaking March 8.
Narvey’s sentencing hearing was held in Fredericton provincial court Tuesday, but Gunn reserved his decision to Thursday morning.
He said the difference between the Crown and defence positions on sentence - four years versus three years, less remand credit - merited the extra time to consider the appropriate sanction.
The judge said Thursday that Narvey’s pre-sentence report painted an unfortunate picture, detailing a troubled upbringing.
He said the offender is largely disconnected from his Indigenous heritage, and that has added to his difficulties.
Narvey also suffers from addictions and mental-health issues, Gunn said, and those have to be considered along with the historically systemic challenges that complicate the lives of Indigenous offenders.
“He has a long and somewhat continuous [criminal] record,” the judge said, and that’s among the aggravating factors in the case.
He also said past rehabilitative sentences haven’t proven effective.
Also concerning, Gunn said, was who Narvey victimized.
“The victims in this case are his mother, his brother and police officers,” he said.
But Narvey has accepted responsibility for his actions, the judge said, and he’s expressed a desire to get help for his issues.
Furthermore, Gunn said, the offender’s mother remains supportive of him.
In arriving at the overall sentence of 44 months, he said, he considered the totality principle, which directs judges that cumulative sentences can’t be excessively punitive or overly onerous.
In addition to the prison term, the judge ordered Narvey to submit a DNA sample for inclusion in a criminal database, prohibited him from possessing firearms and other weapons for life, and barred him from driving anywhere in Canada for three years following his release from prison.
Fredericton Police Force officers arrested Narvey the night of March 8 after a three-hour standoff at a Cliffe Street residence. That was the same day that he’d bear-sprayed his mother and brother.
He was initially unco-operative with the courts during his early appearances on the charges, cursing out judges at times or refusing to emerge from a jail cell to attend court virtually.
Narvey underwent psychiatric assessments, and they found he was fit to stand trial and not exempt from criminal responsibility due to a mental disorder at the time of his crimes.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Real winner ...
So... with the way our "system" works, he'll be out in 65 days?