MOOSE JAW — Angry that his sister’s boyfriend had allegedly injured their mother, Kimiwan Philip Muri took a literal view of “stabbing one’s friends in the back” by taking a kitchen knife to his sibling’s beau.
Moose Jaw police were called at 12:49 a.m. on June 18 about a stabbing in a residence on the 200 block of High Street West, and when they arrived, they found one person holding a cloth against a one-inch-wide cut on the victim’s right shoulder blade, Crown prosecutor Rob Parker explained in provincial court recently.
Police found the weapon, a kitchen knife, which had blood on the tip, he continued. EMS took the victim to the hospital, where he required staples to close the non-life-threatening wound.
The victim told police that he and a friend were drinking at his girlfriend’s apartment when Muri showed up but didn’t say anything and sat by himself, Parker said while reading the case facts.
She spoke to her brother, who sat beside the two men on the couch. A few minutes later, Muri pushed the victim and then stabbed him.
“‘I started running around. I didn’t know he stabbed me until I saw the knife in his hand,’” Parker said, quoting the victim. “‘My buddy asked him why he did it and he said because I had hurt his mom.’”
The Crown prosecutor later clarified that Muri stabbed his sister’s boyfriend because the latter had allegedly broken the jaw of the siblings’ mother in an unrelated historical assault.
As part of a joint submission — Muri pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a weapon — the 20-year-old received a conditional discharge and 12 months of probation. Some conditions he must follow include keeping the peace and being of good behaviour, having no contact with or being near his sister’s boyfriend, and taking personal programming.
As part of the conditional discharge, Muri will not receive a criminal record if he abides by his probation conditions.
Defence lawyer Maureen Schaeffer explained that Muri was born on the Kawacatoose reserve but lives with family in Central Butte and Moose Jaw. He was born with cognitive challenges that affected his learning but still completed Grade 12.
She urged Judge Brian Hendrickson to consider the Gladue factors in this situation, including the fact Muri’s relatives went through residential school. This led to the breakdown of his family — including the use of drugs — since he grew up with no father and his mother raised him while she had relationships with abusive men.
“He (Muri) accepts responsibility. He knows what he did was wrong,” Schaeffer said. “There is some PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) going on from his childhood too, (so) part of the conditional discharge would be he takes personal programming to address some of these issues.”
Judge Hendrickson accepted the joint submission, while he ordered that Muri provide a DNA sample and be prohibited from possessing any weapons. He informed the man that using a weapon was a serious offence, while it was fortunate that the injury was not life-threatening.
There is no good excuse to attack someone, even if that person allegedly attacks a family member, the judge continued. That is not a proper response and citizens cannot take the law into their hands.
“There’s an aspect of vigilantism … that is concerning to me in terms of your behaviour, sir, and as simply stated, you just can’t do that,” Hendrickson added. “The appropriate response would be to contact the police (and) have them follow up on any concerns you have.”
