Man released on time served after spending more time in jail than Crown was requesting
By Jeremy Appel on October 26, 2018.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel A man accused of assault, mischief, resisting arrest and possessing a small quantity of methamphetamine was sentenced to 51 days in jail, but is getting full credit for time served. Lee Clark, 41, appeared Thursday in Medicine Hat Provincial Court via closed-circuit TV from the Calgary Remand Centre. “The fact is he’s been in custody in excess of the time my friend is seeking,” said duty counsel Ian Baird, who represented Clark. According to a joint submission of facts, 79-year-old Roy Gerald, the complainant in the assault, had a scuffle with the accused at the local homeless shelter on Jan. 15. Gerald ran into Clark at the Medicine Hat Public Library, where Clark proceeded to push him to the ground three times. On June 26, Clark was found at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital with 0.3 grams of meth on him. Clark was charged with mischief on July 10 after police were called to a house where Clark was outside screaming at dogs, throwing objects at a fence and refusing to leave for 35 minutes. On July 31, police received a complaint that Clark was causing a disturbance at a local motel. When they told him to calm down, the accused was non-compliant and tried to flee, which resulted in the resisting arrest charge. Clark was sent for a mental health assessment on this series of charge and the professionals determined he was fit to stand trial. The Crown observed Clark has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1996, including a conviction for domestic assault, but was out of trouble from 2012 to 2016. Baird said Clark has only a Grade 9 education and has been on medical leave from work due to back issues for many years. Clark was sentenced to 20 days for the assault, 15 days for mischief, 15 days for resisting a peace officer and one day for possessing meth. Additional charges of causing a disturbance — from the July 31 incident — and failure to comply with a court appearance were dropped by the Crown in exchange for Clark’s plea. 16
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