Criminal Justice Process Report: Assault with a Weapon Causing Bodily Harm

This criminal justice process report will follow the case of an assault with a weapon

causing bodily harm. The crime was a stabbing, which is Section 267 of the Criminal Code. The

act of the stabbing happened on Oct 12th, 2012 at 12:41 PM, in a kitchen, where a chef, known as

Mr. Gabe, got angry at a co-worker, known as Mr. Crider. Mr. Gabe then grabbed a knife and

stabbed Mr. Crider in the hand. The suspect was a 56 year old, Caucasian male with a history of

other assault charges and an apparent drinking problem. He was homeless and had only worked

at the restaurant for a few months. The crime was detected as other members in the kitchen

witnessed the event and called 911.

There was probable cause to arrest Mr. Gabe as he was seen at the crime scene and

matched the description given by a co-worker during the 911 call. The arrest was immediate and

Mr. Gabe did not put up a fight against the arrest. Police officers began filing a written charge,

laying an information, as they believed there were reasonable grounds for arrest. Under the

Charter of Rights and Freedoms he was afforded the right to know why he was being detained,

the right to remain silent, and the right to a lawyer. It was explained to him that he was being

detained because he committed assault with a weapon causing bodily harm.

Evidence was collected through eye-witness interviews at the scene of the crime, as well

as the bloody knife, which was taken into evidence. Many pictures of the crime scene were taken

as well. There was also security footage that caught the assault on tape, which the restaurant

owner gave to the cops immediately.

The accused was detained and taken to the police department in the back of a police car.

At the police station he also complied with a DNA test. Section 11 of the Charter, pertaining to
what is known as habeus corpus states that one is not to be denied reasonable bail without just

cause. This was also fulfilled. The police determined that it was in the public interest to not give

bail to the accused. Because of his violent past, atrocity of the crime and unclear housing

situation it was not in the public interest to release the defendant or issue a summons due to flight

risk. Starting on Oct 12th, 2012 accused was kept in police custody until his trial date, which was

set for three months later on January 12th, 2013.

The arraignment happened in Supreme Level Court, with a trial by Judge alone as it was

an indictable offence as Mr. Gabe was facing more than 6 months jail time. A preliminary

hearing is a hearing held by the Court to decide whether there was enough evidence to send the

case to trial. At the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor, which is the Crown counsel, presented

the most important parts of the evidence against the accused to the Judge. The evidence

admissible into court was the sworn eye-witness testimony, the bloodied knife containing Mr.

Gabes DNA as well as the security footage from the restaurant. The judge agreed that there was

enough admissible evidence to go to trial.

Mr. Gabe was tried for Assault with a Weapon Causing Bodily Harm. At the trial the

Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Gabe committed the alleged offence by

establishing the evidence. They provided the actus reus, the act being the stabbing which was

caught on tape, and the mens rea meaning that Mr. Gabe was perfectly aware of what action he

committed, which he was. The opening statement of the Crown counsel started with Ms. Childs,

the crown prosecutor, addressing the Justice, Honorable Martin, and established her intentions to

prove Mr. Gabe guilty of Assault with a Weapon Causing Bodily Harm. She then laid out the

facts of the case, which included revision of the security footage. In the footage Mr. Gabe is seen

arguing with Mr. Crider for a period of five minutes and then reaching for a large chefs knife
and stabbing the victim in the hand. They also presented the knife with DNA evidence that

matched Mr. Gabes. Finally the crown called up a witness to the stand from the restaurant. The

witness, who chose not to be named, testified that they saw Mr. Gabe stab the victim after the

two had gotten into a brief verbal altercation. There was then cross examination by the Defence,

where the defending lawyer asked the question of whether or not there was a history of tension

between the two men, to which the witness admitted that there was. The Defence then gave their

case, playing on the point that the two men had had a violent past against one another and that

the attack was not unprovoked. They called a witness up to the stand, also from the restaurant, to

corroborate this defence. The Defence argued that Mr. Gabe did not intend to cause bodily harm

to Mr. Crider. They also argued that although Mr. Gabe has had a number of altercations with the

law in the past, all of them were before 2008 and he had been out of the court system for four

years. They also pointed out that so far, Mr. Gabe had fully complied with the investigation and

argued for leniency in his sentencing. The Judge agreed with the defence in that Mr. Gabe had

shown remorse and compliance, but still found Mr. Gabe to be guilty.

A pre-sentence report was ordered, where the offenders history was researched. It was

found that he indeed have alcohol problems as well as previous assault charges, none of which

he did time for. On Feb 12th, 2016 there was a sentencing hearing. At the sentence hearing Mr.

Crider spoke, and said he had forgiven Mr. Gabe for his actions, and noted that his life had not

been altered since in the incident. Mr. Gabe seemed very remorseful for his actions as well,

apologizing to Mr. Crider and thanking him for his forgiveness. The purpose of Mr. Gabes

sentence was utilitarian and future focused, as the prison he was being put into had a lot of

programs for rehabilitation. Aggravating factors included Mr. Gabe already having assault

charges on his record. Mitigating factors of the charge included the fact that Mr. Gabe was under
a lot of stress being homeless and trying to hold down a job. Mr. Gabe was sentenced to 3 years

of incarceration, with time served. The judge also ordered conditions, that Mr. Gabe attend

Alcoholic Anonymous meetings as well as anger-management classes.

The intake assessment was a documentation of Mr. Gabe life history including birth date,

schooling history, areas that he had lived, recent employment history, as well as an additional

finger print screening and DNA collection. Risk factors such as Mr. Gabe prior offences, alcohol

abuse, and older age were used to make the decision concerning sentencing. Because Mr. Gabe

had been extremely compliant with a police, and recognized his wrong doings they classified

him as a medium public safety risk and a low escape risk. It was assessed that he would do best

in a prison that offered services to help him beat his alcohol addiction and help him counteract

his rage issues.

Because Mr. Gabe committed a violent offence, it was best if he was put in a medium-

security prison where he could also participate in correctional program plans. Here Mr. Gabe was

able to receive the education and support he needed, when it came to fighting his alcohol

addiction as well as anger management courses. Because Mr. Gabe had GED he was be able to

participate in programs designed to help other offenders, which could in turn be very rewarding

for prisoners as they pick up new life skills. His correctional plan was completed in respect to his

education level, where he was able to take more advanced courses in anger management as well

as attend counselling sessions. Mr. Gabe was clear about his objectives in the beginning of his

sentence, in the sense that he realized he was wrong in the way that he acted and wanted to learn

how to change his behaviour.

Mr. Gabes time in jail was very successful period of growth for him. He had a very good

relationship with guards and other prisoners. Ever day he made meals and inspections on time.
When he first arrived, alcohol withdrawal was hard for him, but he was able to overcome his

addiction through Alcoholics Anonymous. He also successfully received anger-management

training and showed interest in becoming a mentor for other people struggling with controlling

anger.

Mr. Gabe was eligible for parole at 1/3 of his three-year sentence. His time in jail started

on Oct 12th, 2012 as the judge ordered his sentence to be with time served. On Oct 12th, 2013 Mr.

Gabe became eligible for parole and appeared in front of the Parole Board of Canada Hearing.

He applied for full parole, which he obtained because of his set life schedule. He planned on

continuing to attend Alcoholic Anonymous meetings at the local church and had talked to his last

employer, who was willing to rehire him on the kitchen staff. Mr. Gabe also showed very good

behaviour in jail. Since Oct 12th, 2013 Mr. Gabe was on parole, in which he reported to a parole

officer three times a week. He was also accepted into a half-way house as well, which helped

resolve his housing situation.

Mr. Gabe was statutory released on Oct 12th, 2014, 2/3s of the way into his sentence. Mr.

Gabe was supervised in the community through his parole officer and members of the half-way

house. Mr. Gabe successfully integrated back into the community by having a job, attending

alcoholic anonymous meetings and until his warrant expired, on Oct 12th, 2015 and has not

reoffended.