Stabbing in Shoppers Mall parking lot nets jail time

A man who stabbed a stranger in the parking lot of Brandon Shoppers Mall was sentenced to nine months in jail in Brandon provincial court on Monday.

“I am mindful of the fact that when we say stabbing … that not a lot of force was used here, but it’s still a very serious matter,” Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said. “(The knife) had a blade that, if it had gone all the way into the body, I think was capable of doing terrible damage.”

Colton Richard, 24, previously pleaded guilty to a single count of assault with a weapon.

The Crown recommended a sentence of one year in jail, while defence argued for a conditional sentence — house arrest.

On Dec. 26, 2023, Richard stabbed a man in his back in the Brandon Shoppers Mall parking lot. When officers arrested Richard, he admitted to stabbing the man and gave several different reasons for why he did it.

Lonstrup said Richard told police he didn’t like the way the man was looking at him and later said he stabbed him in self-defence. When speaking with the probation officer who was preparing his pre-sentence report, he said the victim was advancing at him.

“This was completely unprovoked. I’m having a massive problem trying to suss out from these facts what the motive was here. Undoubtedly, nothing justified this victim being stabbed,” Lonstrup said.

When Richard was asked why he was carrying a knife, he said it was for protection.

“What that means is he was pre-armed,” Lonstrup said, adding that the reason carrying weapons is criminalized is for situations like this.

“When (people) have scary weapons, and it’s to their subjective judgment when they need to use them, they’re going to make the bad judgment call,” he said.

The Crown said it’s an aggravating factor that it happened in a public space.

“People should feel free and safe to go there without thinking about moments like this, especially unprovoked.”

He said it’s also somewhat aggravating that Richard was placing some blame on the victim for the stabbing, and although the injury was superficial, Richard was “simply lucky” it wasn’t worse.

Lonstrup said there are some mitigating factors, including that Richard was unhoused at the time, has Gladue factors and has no prior criminal record, which showed the offence was probably out of character.

With Richard’s admission to police and a witness who was available to give evidence, the Crown had a strong case, despite the victim’s “complete lack of co-operation,” Lonstrup said. Still, Richard should be given some credit for his guilty plea, he said.

The Crown emphasized that he thought jail time was necessary and “firmly opposed” a conditional sentence.

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison said he always told Richard this wasn’t a case of self-defence, but in Richard’s mind, “he really thought it was.”

He said Richard has been assaulted several times in the community before, some of them being “very serious” attacks.

“When this guy stared at him and started to approach him, he panicked, and unfortunately made a bad decision,” Harrison said.

A conditional sentence would be the least restrictive option, he said, pointing out that the offence happened roughly 26 months ago and Richard hasn’t reoffended.

Richard was exposed to domestic abuse and alcohol at a young age and spent time in the care of Child and Family Services, Harrison said. His father was a part of the ’60s Scoop and attended residential school, court heard.

Harrison said Richard was under the influence of crystal methamphetamine at the time of the offence and hasn’t used it since. More recently, he also stopped using marijuana.

When given a chance to speak, Richard said he was “truly sorry for what happened to that man.”

“I really hope he heals better mentally and physically. It was definitely wrong on my end,” he said. “I really hope that guy is OK.”

Hewitt-Michta said determining an appropriate sentence in these circumstances was difficult.

“On one hand, I’m dealing with a very concerning set of circumstances, and on the other hand, I’m dealing with a relatively young Indigenous person with no prior criminal record.”

While the injury was minor, Hewitt-Michta said it was concerning that the stabbing took place in a space where kids and families are expected to be.

She said her primary responsibility is to impose a sentence that sends a clear message to Richard and the community “that behaviour like this will not be tolerated.”

“I am not persuaded that a conditional sentence order is a sufficient penalty to send a message that has to be sent,” the judge said.

She sentenced Richard to nine months in jail, minus the time he has already spent in custody, which is the equivalent of 27 days, followed by 18 months of supervised probation.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com