House arrest in Oromocto home-invasion
Judge allows for lenient sentence for Gabriel Green, 34, for attempted break-in because Indigenous gay man is working on addiction issues, other challenges
A judge said Thursday systemic issues in the justice system and jails called for a community-based sentence for an Indigenous gay man involved in a violent home invasion this spring.
Gabriel Green, 33, of Hiawatha Court in Oromocto, appeared in Fredericton provincial court in custody and in person Thursday for a sentencing hearing.
He previously pleaded guilty to attempting to break into the Welomukotuk (Oromocto) First Nation home of Mitchell Vienneau-Polchies and assaulting him with a weapon - namely, a crowbar.
Crown prosecutor Gwynne Hearn said shortly after 6 p.m. on April 16, the RCMP were notified of a home invasion in progress on the Welomukotuk First Nation.
Vienneau-Polchies told police three individuals - two men and one woman - showed up at his home. One of the men was identified as Green, court heard, and he was armed with a crowbar, while the other man was brandishing a knife.
The prosecutor said Green was there apparently in an effort to collect on some kind of debt from the victim.
The incident was caught on security cameras at Vienneau-Polchies’ home, she said, and the two men were seen trying to force their way into the home.
The intruders never gained access to the home, Hearn said, but the victim was fearful. Vienneau-Polchies wasn’t harmed, she said, but the fact that Green was menacing him with a crowbar amounted to assault with a weapon.
The prosecutor said Green has a prior criminal record, but it doesn’t include any related convictions.
She also noted the offender presents with a positive pre-sentence report, which indicates this incident is out of character for him.
Hearn recommended a total jail term of 10 to 12 months, less credit for time spent on remand. She calculated the straight remand time at 124 days, which makes for a remand credit of 186 days, just over six months, after the customary 1.5-to-one credit formula is applied.
The prosecutor also recommended a one-year term of probation to follow the custodial sentence.
Defence lawyer Wanda Severns asked the court to allow Green to serve his jail time in the community under a conditional-sentence order.
She said he takes responsibility and has expressed the desire to straighten out his life.
“Clearly from the pre-sentence report, he’s embarrassed by his actions,” the defence lawyer said.
“He knows he can do better.”
A conditional sentence would allow Green to continue the positive steps he’s taken to address his substance-abuse issues, to care for his mother and to pursue potential avenues of employment, Severns said.
Hearn said the Crown didn’t oppose a conditional sentence in Green’s case.
Addiction issues are at the heart of what happened, Severns said, and it’s important for the court to consider that and the need to address them in crafting a fit sentence.
Court heard Green had been using cocaine and crystal meth regularly.
“It’s not an excuse, but it’s sad that it’s what led us to be there,” the defence lawyer said.
She also emphasized that time on remand, in atrocious and challenging conditions, were even more trying for her client as an Indigenous gay man.
Green apologized for his actions, and said he would follow through with any counselling or treatment included as a condition of a probation order.
Judge Natalie LeBlanc accepted the conditional-sentence recommendation.
She said courts have been directed to consider the overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders in jail and prison populations when sentencing such offenders, because that overrepresentation flows directly from historical and systemic racist elements in the justice system.
As such, the judge said, she felt the best way to address the various issues with which Green struggles is a sentence served in the community rather than in custody.
LeBlanc imposed a four-month conditional sentence, during which Green is to remain inside his Hiawatha Court home and on the property at all times except for medical emergencies, followup care, treatment and counselling programs, court, appointments with legal counsel and Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. to conduct personal affairs weekly.
Green is to have no contact with Vienneau-Polchies during that time, participate in counselling and treatment programs as directed by his sentence supervisor, and abstain from alcohol and other intoxicants.
That will be followed by 12 months of probation, during which the counselling and no-contact conditions will continue to apply.
The judge also ordered Green to submit a DNA sample for inclusion in a criminal database and to refrain from possessing firearms and other weapons for 10 years.
Hearn withdrew a related charge of attempted robbery at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing Thursday.
Also charged in the case is Jacob Gautreau, 25, of Canterbury Drive in Fredericton.
Similarly, he’s charged with breaking into Vienneau-Polchies’ home, attempting to rob him and assaulting him with a knife.
Gautreau, who was released from custody on conditions shortly after his arrest, previously denied those charges, and his trial is scheduled for May 15.
Despite the description of a female suspect’s participation in the events of April 16 during Green’s sentencing hearing, no woman has been charged as a result of the investigation.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Justice in Canada is Not Blind. Very sad.