Being homeless and suffering from a mental illness caused Sean Poil to be a “nuisance” to downtown businesses and their customers, with his actions landing him in jail for two months.
Poil, 36, appeared by video in Moose Jaw Provincial Court recently, where he pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to comply with court conditions and two charges of committing mischief to property.
He received 60 days in jail, but because he had already spent 27 days on remand, the court credited him with 41 days, leaving him 19 days left to serve.
The Crown stayed several other charges, while the judge waived the victim fine surcharge.
Poil committed his offences earlier this year, beginning in February, Crown prosecutor Monique Paquin said while reciting the facts.
The court put him on a year-long probation on Jan. 30 with conditions to not attend certain locations downtown, including banks and the spa. However, police found him in the Bank of Montreal on Feb. 3, arrested him and then released him.
A day later, police found him inside the CIBC ATM vestibule, where they smelled cigarette smoke and saw butts and spittle on the floor. They had warned him two weeks earlier about not smoking there.
Meanwhile, staff from the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa — along with two witnesses — saw Poil in the lobby on Feb. 8 begging for money, said Paquin.
A month later, on March 9, police arrested Poil after receiving back-to-back calls that he was in CIBC’s ATM vestibule asking for money.
From Jan. 1 to March 9, officers dealt with him 14 times at CIBC, while they had also received 51 complaint calls from downtown business owners, Paquin said.
The Crown prosecutor wanted Poil jailed for 120 days, which she acknowledged was a jump from the 36 days in jail he received last time. Yet, she was concerned that he wouldn’t follow — and had trouble following — the probation orders.
Legal Aid lawyer Zak Anderson told Judge David Chow that Poil was homeless for roughly eight months when he committed these offences while he had been staying at Willow Lodge Shelter.
After his release, he plans to work with the shelter and John Howard Society to find permanent housing.
“These (bank vestibules) were places where he felt safe. But in the future, he can’t go to these places anymore,” said Anderson.
Poil understands that his time in custody will increase if he doesn’t follow his probation order, while he still has 10 months left to serve after his release, Anderson added. Meanwhile, his homelessness and inability to maintain housing have contributed to “some serious mental health issues.”
“I think I’ve done quite enough time on remand,” Poil stuttered.
Judge Chow acknowledged that Poil had appeared in court before, and while he is polite, he usually appears “quite internally agitated.” Furthermore, even though the accused had denied in his bail verification report that he had a mental illness, the judge thought otherwise.
“I’m alright, I’m alright, I’m alright … ,” Poil muttered.
Poil appears intelligent and understands right from wrong, but he continues to attend these downtown locations and be a “nuisance” to others, the judge said. While these offences are neither serious nor violent, the solution is for Poil to find permanent housing.
Chow said he accepted the defence’s recommendation of 60 days in jail but “struggled” to impose it because Poil had just finished 36 days in custody and had started his year-long probation when he racked up more charges and was re-arrested.
“I don’t want to see you back here before me,” the judge added. “When you get out, you get housing and you sleep in your own bed.”
