Man given one-year sentence for assault, obstruction

A man who assaulted his partner and called her 57 times while in custody, pleading with her to get the charges dropped, has been sentenced to one year behind bars.

Darren Laity, 37, pleaded guilty to a single count of obstructing justice and two counts of assault, along with several counts each of breaching his undertaking and court-ordered conditions in Brandon provincial court on Monday.

The Crown and defence jointly recommended a total sentence of one year, followed by two years of probation. Laity had the equivalent of 360 days in custody, leaving him with a five-day sentence going forward.

Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup detailed the facts behind Laity’s guilty pleas.

On April 11, 2025, a woman called police and said her daughter had been assaulted. When police arrived at the victim’s residence, the woman had a black eye and told officers she had been assaulted “multiple times over the last week,” Lonstrup said.

She told police the man threw a beer can at her and choked her, court heard.

Laity had left and was on his way to a different address, where police later arrested him. He was released from custody on an undertaking.

Shortly after midnight on May 6, 2025, police responded to another alleged assault on the victim. While she refused to disclose any details about an assault when police arrived, she said Laity was in the home.

“She let police inside, and they found him hiding on the roof,” Lonstrup said, adding that police also found out he had been residing at a different address than the one listed on his release order.

Lonstrup said the address change is concerning, especially in domestic violence cases since it’s paramount that police know where the accused is. Laity was arrested and later released again.

On July 3, 2025, police received a report from a third party that the victim’s ex-boyfriend was at her residence.

“He was afraid he was going to kill her,” Lonstrup said.

Police spoke with the victim, who said she got a ride home from a co-worker, and Laity was upset about it. The two got into an argument that turned physical.

“He pushed her in between the couch and the wall, causing bruising to her right arm, grabbed her face, aggressively moving it from side to side, causing her nose to bleed and swelling to her jaw.”

When “she kicked him out of the house,” Lonstrup said he smashed the windows of her car with a golf club.

Laity had already left the scene, but a couple of days later, an anonymous source reported that Laity had just entered the residence the victim was living in. The victim allowed police to clear the residence, where they found Laity hiding in a closet under a pile of clothes.

Laity was taken into custody, where he proceeded to make 57 calls to the victim while under a condition that he not contact her.

“In the 57 calls, he never threatens her, he never intimidates her, but on the average once per call, pleads with her to get these charges dropped,” Lonstrup said.

Laity told the victim he would take the matter to trial and all she had to do was not show up.

“Frequently through these calls, however, he takes responsibility for the assaults but then interchangeably blames her for provoking them into happening,” Lonstrup said.

The Crown highlighted the seriousness of witness interference and said victims of intimate partner violence are the most vulnerable to this.

“The reality is in the cycle of domestic violence, the victim feels varying competing feelings ranging from fear of or love for the aggressor.”

Lonstrup asked that seven months of the total sentence be allotted to the charge of obstructing justice.

Defence lawyer Philip Sieklicki said his client has spent a significant time in custody, which has given him an opportunity to reflect on his actions.

“(He) certainly acknowledges that he behaved absolutely terribly toward (the victim),” he said. “He deeply regrets his actions.”

Sieklicki said alcohol was a contributing factor to his offending, and while in custody, Laity has been participating in Alcoholics Anonymous sessions and has also taken anger management counselling, which has helped him recognize his triggers.

Laity has never served time in custody before and has found jail has been scary at times, court heard.

When given a chance to speak, Laity apologized for “what happened in the past.”

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta went along with the lawyers’ joint recommendation and said she appreciated Laity’s guilty pleas, which avoided the victim having to testify in court.

“This isn’t necessarily the sentence I would have imposed if I had been left to come up with one on my own, but I think it’s quite lenient,” she said. “There may have been a very different situation if you had taken (the charges) to trial and been convicted.”

» sanderson@brandonsun.com