(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A North Okanagan woman whose former partner used a Taser against a person in a dispute over some belongings she'd left at a relative's house, won't do jail time for her part in the crime.

At the Salmon Arm courthouse Dec. 21, Brittney Lynn Galbraith received a $650 fine and will be under a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for several months after she pleaded guilty to forcibly entering her cousin's home and stealing a safe.

The court heard Galbraith and her young son had been living with her cousin and her cousin's two children in April of 2020, but the two had had a falling out.

The court heard that Galbraith had been assaulted by her cousin's former partner and the two had argued about Galbraith's drug use.

While the 33-year-old had got some of her belongings back from the property, she wasn't satisfied.

Both women had contacted RCMP about the dispute over the belongings, but the police hadn't intervened or attended the residence.

On the evening of April 12, 2020, Galbraith, along with her former partner Christopher Robert Hubley, and another woman, Nicole Swanson, had gone around to the cousin's property in Enderby in an effort to get Galbraith's belongings back.

The cousin wasn't home but some friends were, along with the cousin's two children.

Hubley used a Taser on one of the friends before he and Galbraith entered the property.

The court heard Galbraith couldn't find her belongings in the home so she took the cousin's safe and a cell phone that belonged to her 12-year-old nephew.

"This was a matter of revenge and vigilantism, she wanted her items back she felt that the police had not done enough for her," Crown prosecutor Danika Heighes told the court. "It's all a matter of retaliation."

Following her arrest, Galbraith was placed on a release order with a curfew which she breached on two separate occasions.

For his part in the crime, on Oct. 22 Hubley was sentenced to 12 months in jail for the assault with the Taser – the court heard he'd Tasered the victim in the neck. The charges against Swanson, however, were stayed by the Crown.

Hubley has a lengthy criminal record and was recently charged in Vernon with aggravated assault for a stabbing that took place in November.

The court heard that Galbraith had no knowledge that Hubley was going to use violence to enter the property.

Separately, along with refusing to wear a mask in court, Galbraith had refused to testify against Hubley during his trial in September. The judge had ordered her removed from the court and she spent a night in a cell for refusing to testify. The following day, however, she testified at Hubley's trial.

The Crown argued for a three- to six-month jail sentence and said Galbraith had little insight into her crime and she thought her actions were somewhat justified to get her belongings back.

Defence lawyer Jonathan Avis said Galbraith had had a "difficult road in life."

"She has struggled in the past with substance abuse ... and been the victim of successive abusive relationships in the past," Avis told the court.

Avis said Galbraith was in a different place in her life now and was receiving counselling. Any prison sentence would take away from the good work Galbraith had done, Avis said.

The defence lawyer argued his client should receive a non-custodial sentence.

B.C. Provincial Court Judge George Leven agreed.

"(Galbraith) should have involved the authorities," the judge said. "I understand her frustration when she doesn't get what she wants from the authorities but it doesn't justify going to somebody's property and helping yourself to items."

Judge Leven said Galbraith had taken significant steps forward in her life.

"I don't wish to interrupt the rehabilitation path she has put herself on and actually send her to jail," he said.

Ultimately, the judge ordered Galbraith to pay a $650 fine and placed her under a curfew from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. along with other conditions and 12 months probation.

— Editor’s note: While this story was based on what was said in court, it appears errors were made. We’ve been informed that in his separate trial, Crown didn’t prove Christopher Hubley used a Taser in the assault and it was never proven what the item was that was used in the assault. He was convicted of assault with a weapon, but acquitted on the charge of having a restricted weapon, a Taser.

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