MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — Experts usually recommend consuming alcohol in moderation, but for people who overindulge, they sometimes don’t remember afterward what they did — like threatening their children and attempting to kill them.
For Moose Javian Martin James Dunn, he will spend the next five months in jail after attacking his son with a wood bat and his daughter’s boyfriend with a hatchet while also threatening to kill them.
It was around midnight on July 27 when Dunn, 47, entered into a verbal argument with his son, daughter and her boyfriend, and at one point, struck his son with a wood bat that left a cut above his left eye, Crown prosecutor Rob Parker said recently while reading the facts in Moose Jaw Provincial Court.
The trio disarmed Dunn, but he grabbed a nearby hatchet and struck his daughter’s boyfriend, leaving a small cut, and threatened to kill them, Parker continued. This incident was a continuation of an altercation that occurred earlier in the evening; police had attempted to find Dunn then, but he fled.
The son and boyfriend suffered minor injuries, but neither required medical attention.
Dunn, 47, has a criminal record that includes a “fairly extensive” list of assaults, although there has been a lengthy gap between this incident and the previous one, said Parker.
As part of a joint submission, Dunn will spend five months (150 days) in jail. He will then spend 18 months on probation after his release, which will allow him to access services in the community.
Some probation conditions include keeping the peace and being of good behaviour, taking treatment or personal programming, having no contact with his son or daughter’s boyfriend or being near their home, work or educational institution, and having no contact — except for phone calls, emails or texts — with his daughter or being near their home, work or educational institution.
Dunn is also prohibited from owning or possessing any firearm or weapon, while he must provide a DNA sample and forfeit the weapons.
Since he had spent 42 days on remand after his arrest, the court credited him with 63 days, which means he has 87 days left.
Legal Aid Lawyer Zakary Anderson explained that Dunn’s last assault occurred more than 10 years ago. Furthermore, the last time he received jail time was in 2004, which was nearly 20 years ago.
“We agree that the facts in this situation are quite aggravating … . This (incident) arises from his drinking,” Anderson said, noting his client was sober from October 2018 until the end of 2022 and had only one conviction of failing to comply with a court order in that time.
“Martin was severely intoxicated in the night in question. He doesn’t remember everything that happened, but based on the relevant consistency of the statements, he is willing to accept the facts as described by the Crown,” the defence lawyer continued.
Dunn plans to return to Alcoholics Anonymous and build a support network as part of his recovery. Since he is Aboriginal, he plans to attend cultural events such as sweats and find a treatment centre that focuses on cultural programming.
Anderson noted that Dunn’s family experienced trauma from residential schools, which affected his childhood, how he was treated, not knowing his language or culture and never knowing his father until he was a teenager. Moreover, the family experienced alcohol abuse, while his birth parents were ’60s scoop survivors.
Judge Brian Hendrickson accepted the joint submission, saying it was a “fit sentence.” He also agreed to waive the victim surcharge penalty.
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