Image Credit: PEXELS
August 03, 2019 - 4:19 PM
OKANAGAN - A woman who was found guilty of harassing an Okanagan volunteer fire chief had her conviction overturned in June.
Sharon Joyce Schnurr was found guilty on Aug. 20, 2018 on one count of harassing communications based on a series of phone calls to volunteer fire chief Jason Satterthwaite. The repeated calls were related to complaints about smoke, but the original trial judge said Schnurr harassed Satterthwaite without excuses.
In a transcribed decision, Justice Anthony Saunders said the evidence did not support the claim that Schnurr had no lawful reason to repeatedly contact Satterthwaite and he overturned the conviction in the B.C. Supreme Court on June 21.
The decision laid out the facts of the case, which showed that Schnurr repeatedly called Satterthwaite between March 30 and April 4, 2017 to complain about smoke. Satterthwaite investigated the area and found no violation. Schnurr called Satterthwaite several times to complain about smoke, noting concern for the health of her dog.
In the original trial, Satterthwaite claimed there are permissible times to generate smoke from open fires in the Okanagan. Justice Saunders, in his decision, said that claim was false, saying no bylaw in the area allows for the generation of smoke nuisances from open fires. Saunders said Satterthwaite's complaint of harassment over matters that weren't bylaw infractions was unfounded.
In the decision, Saunders said Satterthwaite's misunderstanding of smoke nuisance bylaws and Schnurr's concern for her pet's safety gave Schnurr a lawful reason to repeatedly call Satterthwaite.
Saunders said he agreed with the original judge's assessment that Schnurr's intentions may have been to harass Satterthwaite, but he said harassing a public official in an attempt to goad them into doing their job cannot be criminal.
Saunders ordered the conviction be set aside and a finding of not guilty be substituted.
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