(STAFF / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops man who pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend and resisting arrest after police attempted to intervene in the physical dispute almost two years ago will not serve any more jail time for the incident.

Randy Michael Poirier, 34, pleaded guilty to assault and willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer after a heated altercation between he and his ex-girlfriend in June 2017. Poirier has already served 56 days in jail and B.C. Supreme Justice Emily A. Burke said in her decision today, March 5, more jail time was not warranted.

On June 10, 2017, Poirier’s then on and off again girlfriend spent the night at his apartment where he lived with his mother. The couple got into an argument in the morning about the breakfast he made, said Justice Burke in her judgment.

Things progressed, and the woman decided to leave, however Poirier did not want her to leave. Defence counsel Graham Kay said Poirier wanted her to stay because he had introduced her to his son and he was worried her departure would impact him.

The woman began to pack up and he stopped her by pushing her onto the bed, Burke said.

“Mr. Poirier’s mother came into the room to try and intervene and Mr. Poirier physically prevented his mother from intervening and forced her out,” Burke said.

Poirier resumed pushing his girlfriend. The two were screaming and yelling very loudly, causing the neighbours in the next door apartment and Poirier’s mother to call the police.

At some point, Poirier grabbed his girlfriend by the throat and threw her down on the bed.

“At another point, he took a pillow and put it on her head for a couple of seconds and told her to be quiet,” Burke said.

She managed to squirm free but Poirier grabbed her arms from behind and into a bear hug telling her to ‘’calm down’’ as he didn’t want the neighbours to hear the fight.

“The police arrived within five minutes of the 911 phone call and they knocked on the bedroom door and identified themselves as police,” Burke said.

They heard a commotion and entered and grabbed Poirier and tried to arrest him.

“He resisted saying they had no right to be there and accused them of police brutality,” Burke said.

Poirier finally let go of his girlfriend and police were finally able to arrest him, Burke said.

Although Poirier’s ex-girlfriend did not suffer physical injuries, her victim impact statement says the incident has left her emotionally and mentally traumatized.

“She has indicated she has nightmares… increased anxiety, in particular of running into Mr. Poirier in the community,” Burke said.

Poirier’s criminal history includes a previous assault in 2010 and an uttering threats conviction in 2015, Burke said.

Crown counsel was seeking a sentence of six months prison time including 18 to 24 months of probation.

However, Justice Burke said no further prison time was necessary after hearing from both Crown and defence submissions. She looked at mitigating factors including Poirier’s guilty plea to avoid a trial and accepting the responsibility of his actions.

“Mr. Poirier now appears to be motivated to being a better person,” Burke said.

For the offence of assault and resisting arrest, Burke sentenced Poirier to prison time already served and will be on probation for the next two years. He will also have to attend counselling for anger management, mental health and spousal abuse prevention.

Poirier told court the biggest lesson he has learned is to walk away and that he can’t control the actions of others but he can control how he reacts.

“I have no plans of finding another girlfriend… I just want to focus on being a dad and getting my life rebuilt,” he said

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