Man gets 15 months for attack on nurse

A man who put a nurse in a chokehold and tried to stab her with a needle at a Brandon hospital last year has been sentenced to 15 months in jail.

“Violence in this setting not only endangers the immediate victim — in this case, the nurse — but can disrupt critical medical services and put other patients at risk,” Judge Patrick Sullivan said in Brandon provincial court on Wednesday.

Andrew Martindale, 27, previously pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon.

The Crown recommended a sentence in the range of 12 to 15 months, while Martindale’s lawyer argued for nine to 12 months.

Crown attorney Yaso Mathu outlined the facts, reading from the nurse’s statement to police.

On April 28, 2025, an ambulance drove Martindale to the Brandon Regional Health Centre after he was allegedly using numerous drugs. Martindale was in the waiting room and had to be asked several times to sit down and not enter staff-only areas.

While the nurse was moving Martindale to the triage treatment room for an assessment, he put her in a chokehold and pulled out what she thought was a needle or a knife and held it up in an attempt to stab her, Mathu said.

She ducked and got herself out of Martindale’s grip. Security tackled him, and when police arrived, they seized a needle, court heard.

“It is extremely aggravating that Mr. Martindale behaved in this way toward (the nurse). She was just doing her job,” Mathu said.

She referenced a section of the Criminal Code of Canada, which states that committing an offence against a person providing health services is an aggravating circumstance for sentencing.

Mathu said no testing was done on the needle to find out what was in it, but regardless, it was a dangerous situation that probably raised “great alarm.”

Martindale’s criminal record is peppered with violent convictions, showing he is no stranger to this sort of behaviour, and therefore a serious sentence was warranted, she said.

“(The sentence) also has to reassure the public that when our health-care workers are assaulted, a serious sentence will be imposed,” Mathu said.

Defence lawyer Morgan Lawrence said her client was often homeless and was struggling with addictions and mental-health issues.

The author of a fitness report completed on Martindale said he carries symptoms of schizophrenia, Lawrence said. She said he likely doesn’t have severe schizophrenia, as he doesn’t experience “bizarre delusions.”

The “non-bizarre hallucinations with less intense delusions” are often seen in people with childhood trauma, which is consistent with Martindale’s experiences, she said.

“I stress … not at all to minimize the effect and the fear likely in the mind of our complainant, but what we see here is a gap in services,” Lawrence said.

She said Martindale doesn’t remember much of what happened on the day of the assault, but conceded he was using drugs and felt as though he was asking for support when he went to the hospital.

“He suspects that it was the voices and his experience that felt overwhelming to him,” she said.

There is some “treatment planning” taking place for Martindale, which his father is involved in, court heard.

When given a chance to speak, Martindale said he was “sorry that happened. I wish it didn’t happen.”

He said that’s not the kind of person he is and he “wasn’t all there” that night.

Sullivan told Martindale that while he accepted Martindale may not behave this way while sober, it’s the type of person he becomes when he uses drugs, which is a choice to some extent.

He said the guilty plea signalled Martindale knew what he did was wrong and is an inherent sign of remorse. Sullivan said it’s important that Martindale is planning to attend treatment to address his addictions.

Martindale was also sentenced to a further 45 days for charges of obstruction of a peace officer, mischief and breaching his release order.

He has the equivalent of 474 days in custody to his credit, leaving him with 21 more days going forward.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com