No jail time will be served by three co-accused who pleaded guilty in a home invasion case involving a door being broken in with a sledgehammer.
On Nov. 27, 2011, Joseph Debigare, Ayla Schachtel and Peter McQuinn were drinking in a Weyburn bar when Schachtel decided she wanted an ex of hers to suffer a "good beating," said Judge Karl Bazin as he read his decision on the case.
The three individuals previously pleaded guilty to break and enter, commit an indictable offence of assault with a weapon. They each appeared in Estevan provincial court on Monday for sentencing.
Schachtel convinced Debigare to travel to Estevan by telling him the alleged trouble she has been caused by the victim, suggesting he sells drugs and won't pay her child support for the child they had together.
The plan was initiated by Schachtel, who knew the victims, and it was ultimately concocted by her and Debigare in Weyburn. McQuinn was with them at the bar, but was not part of the discussion. He drove with them and the plan was not discussed on the way to Estevan.
When they arrived at the victim's house, Debigare retrieved a sledgehammer from his truck, telling McQuinn to stay in the vehicle. Debigare knocked on the victim's front door, and when a woman answered, barged past her, swinging the sledgehammer wildly, hitting the family's German shepherd. The dog underwent emergency surgery for an injury to its head.
Debigare smashed a bedroom door with the sledgehammer to find the male victim they were looking for who was with a female victim seven months pregnant. Bazin noted Debigare did not assault her, but Schachtel struck the woman with a pillow. She went into labour three days later and delivered the baby six weeks prematurely.
McQuinn followed Debigare into the house. McQuinn brandished a box-cutting knife, and while waving the knife, told a couple of people in the house to sit down on the couch. He then followed Debigare to his encounter with the male victim, the focus of the brief attack who suffered injuries to his arm.
The three accused quickly left the residence and were tracked down and arrested by police within minutes.
While considering Schachtel's sentence, Bazin told her lawyer, "She's the one who convinces them to do it."
He suggested that while she wasn't wielding a weapon, she shoulders a lot of the responsibility for the incident.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Davis noted, "None of this would have happened had (Schachtel) not developed the idea. They wouldn't have done anything had she not goaded them on."
It was noted the victims were strangers to Debigare and McQuinn.
The Crown was seeking a prison term of four years for all three accused, while the defence suggested a lengthy suspended sentence would be appropriate.
In victim impact statements, which were submitted to the judge, the victims said they have trust issues and concern over the newborn. One of them decided to move herself and her family out of Estevan for safety concerns as she has fears of an attack happening again.
In deciding sentence, Bazin said he considered that none of the accused had any previous convictions and have generally lived productive lives. He said a suspension of sentence keeps the offenders under the state's control.
"By your actions, you have caused fear and terror, not only to (the male victim) but also to the people who were in the trailer at the time," said Bazin.
The maximum length of a suspended sentence is three years, and that's the term he ordered for both Debigare and Schachtel. McQuinn's sentenced was suspended for two years.
They are all under house arrest and electronic monitoring for the first 12 months of the order, and they are subject to a curfew from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the following 12 months. The trio is prohibited to come within 50 kilometres of Estevan, and they are to perform 240 hours of community service work. They must provide a DNA sample and are subject to a 10-year firearms and weapons prohibition. Restitution of $1,360 is also to be paid for damages to the residence.
Each of the individuals was escorted out of the courtroom by police after sentencing.
Bazin also made an announcement at the beginning of court proceedings on Monday. The judge, who has been presiding in Estevan for more than a year, noted there were few small-claims cases in the city considering the amount of traffic on the criminal docket.
He reminded victims that even if a matter is being dealt with in the criminal system, the civil system is still an avenue they can seek damages from.
"All victims are able to sue perpetrators in the civil system," said Bazin.
He noted that whether an accused is found guilty or not guilty in court, a victim may still sue, and the matters are often settled with a mediator.
Though it's an American case, Bazin brought up the matter of O.J. Simpson, who was found not criminally responsible for two murders, but did end up paying millions of dollars awarded to the victim's families in a civil suit.
He noted Victim Services is an organization that gives advice to victims and supports them during criminal proceedings. Bazin suggested victims hire lawyers and possibly open civil lawsuits in order to receive some compensation from their perpetrator.
