It's hard to go through a summer in provincial court without coming to know some frequent customers. Last time I wrote about some characters, and naturally I've gotten a couple more to share with you.
Let's start with the worst: Mykal Smith was 17 years old when he was called to a residence to "take care" of an occupant. Without knowing the victim Smith showed up and shot him at point blank range in the chest, paralysing him and leaving him for dead. Smith subsequently bragged about the shooting as building his street cred in gangs and a reputation as a hit man. Luckily his boasts were recorded courtesy of a wire tap and despite his complete denial of responsibility he was found guilty of attempted murder. While a young offender at the time of the offence, he was raised to an adult for sentencing. What would have been a 3 year prison sentence as a youth (followed by conditions and intense rehabilitation) instead became an adult sentence - a record-setting 14 years in prison delivered in an airtight decision where Smith was described as coldblooded and calculating, committing a violently evil act. His mother, described by the judge as blind to her son's faults and making every excuse possible for him, found it inconceivable that her baby could be convicted and given such a harsh sentence - she was on the courthouse steps beaking off about how he was railroaded, that they would appeal and win, and how everything was racially motivated. Class act that she is, her and her son's friends (fellow gang members) waited for the victim to wheel his way out of the courthouse so they could heckle him. A heavy sheriff presence helped them exercise some restraint for a change. There were no hardships for this guy growing up - he chose to go bad, and revelled in it. He's used to being the big fish in a small pond - he won't survive adult prison without a major attitude change. And without some major rehabilitation, not only would an early be demise be inevitable but also no great loss. When he gets out he'll have a teenaged son who'll have largely grown up without a father - hopefully this'll motivate a significant life change.
Let's lighten things up with the case of the Grabby Cabby. He picked up two women 1 month apart and somewhat aggressively groped them. Once arrested he said if he were to be punished the first complainant should be punished too since she was asking for it. Well, today he faced sentencing on one count and entered a surprise guilty plea to the other charge. What changed his mind? Apparently he's devoutly religious, and spends 3 hours a day in his prayer room (doing what?), and supposedly he writes down all his prayers. This higher power, oddly absent when he felt entitled to molest his passengers, made a sudden arrival, hoping for a lower sentence. The same judge from the Smith case, just days later, handed down a 5 month prison sentence followed by 1 year probation, instead of Cabby's preferred house arrest. Apparently, women have a right to feel safe in a cab, regardless of what cultural sense of entitlement the cabby might have. While not the full sentence the Crown was seeking, this was a publicised case where a statement was made (we call it deterrence) and Cabby might face deportation upon release. Sadly, his wife and children, being his dependents, might also be deported because of his actions. Apparently he's a good family man in every other aspect. What a shame two women no longer feel safe in cabs at all, and are scared he'll show up at their homes where he dropped them off, perhaps to continue where things left off. Thankfully that's not likely to happen, and the judge made a point of commending the vast majority of local cabbies for safe and efficient service. Sometimes all it takes is one bad apple.
Both the above cases had significant media interest, and mere days apart I made it onto the local evening news in the background of a couple shots. Rather than me being the one asking reporters questions, now some of them have questions for me. That's an interesting role reversal!
(Web screencaps courtesy of CBC Halifax)
We'll finish with the case of the Pasty Fraudster. He's not clinically insane according to the experts, but he's definitely an odd duck. He can't decide what his real name is (supposedly the result of an incomplete name change application), or when he was working where. He claims: 1-to have late-onset spina bifida (which is purely congenital and prevents being able to walk) that almost prevented a minor-league baseball career except for him injecting fluids into his own spine, at the direction of his doctor (which would never ever happen!), 2-to be an engineer who helped either invent or improve plasma TVs and various military-specification computers, working for both the Canadian and American militaries as well as civilian companies, 3-to have recently developed a laser that harnesses the sun's power, not its energy, that is a 99.9% cure for cancer that he can't publicise because the military would confiscate it. To say there are inconsistencies in his story is putting it mildly - you just had to be there to appreciate the sneaky improvisations he would try add to his testimony. If you try pin him down on a detail, such as when he started or finished working for a company, he'd turn into jello, change the subject, then answer the question in a roundabout way that almost but not entirely contradicted his earlier statement. Anyway, using an alias he bilked his mistress out of $50,000 under various pretences. She says there were discounted TVs, computers, and real estate transactions being promised for her money - which of course never showed up. He says the company he was buying from only accepted cash-filled envelopes that he would slide under an office door late at night in an unfamiliar building, never receiving a receipt or confirmation from his mysterious contact. I don't think this guy could tell the truth if his life depended on it - I'm also somewhat surprised he hasn't been struck by lightning while on the stand. He's somehow convincing enough that he's actually had 3 mistresses he's done this to. I've only seen one of them and she's no dummy. This guy's a professional liar, and it looks like this time it's caught up to him. The verdict isn't in yet but it's not hard to guess how the story's going to end. Keeping track of his testimony, let alone keeping a straight face at times when he's on the stand, is challenging at best. You know it's confusing when, after direct and cross-examination, the judge needs 15 minutes of asking questions to get clarification.
Those are the highlights for now. Check you later!
A.
