Guilty plea leads to jail sentence for mischief and assault
By Delon Shurtz on April 17, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A 36-year-old man whose constant intoxication repeatedly lands him in hot water with the law, has received a jail sentence for several criminal offences last year and the year before.Kesley Wolf Child was sentenced to four months in jail after he pleaded guilty this week in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of causing a disturbance, mischief causing damage, and multiple counts of assault.
On Oct. 8, 2019 Wolf Child was causing a disturbance at the Lethbridge Public Library downtown where he was being belligerent and threatening employees. Police arrested the drunken man, and he was placed in a police vehicle, but he continued to act out by banging his head against the inside of the vehicle and threatening to beat up the police officer.
Four months later, police were called to the Movie Mill where three intoxicated men were being rough with staff and causing a disturbance during a childrens’ movie.
As the men were being escorted out of the theatre by an employee, Wolf Child elbowed the young man in the chest and repeatedly pushed him.
Then a week later, on Feb. 26, 2020, the Diversion Outreach Team, which assists the city’s vulnerable citizens, was called to the Bank of Montreal downtown where Wolf Child was causing problems. Wolf Child slapped one of the members of the DOT in the face, and spit at him. Fortunately, explained Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles, it was a dry spit and the DOT member was not struck by anything.
“Mr. Wolf Child was literally spitting mad,” Giles told court.
On another occasion Wolf Child was at a gas station and filling a cup with boiling water when an employee asked him to leave. Wolf Child complied, but only after throwing the hot water into the employee’s face, causing first-degree burns. Wolf Child was arrested shortly after, during which he wanted to fight the police officer.
On July 21 Wolf Child was “pestering” a man sitting in his truck that was parked downtown. The man told Wolf Child to leave, which he did, but then he returned, pounded on the truck’s windows and demanded a fight. The man got out of his truck and Wolf Child punched him in the face, and the two men struggled. The owner of the truck ultimately got the better of Wolf Child, who punched the man’s truck before leaving, causing about $250 damage.
Wolf Child’s last offence to which he pleaded guilty was on Oct. 11, 2020 after he was asked by a security officer parked near a restaurant to leave the property. Wolf Child was holding a can of chili and threw it at the officer’s vehicle, smashing the driver’s side window and showering the officer with glass.
Giles told court Wolf Child has a criminal record which “goes on for pages,” and is the result of his poor behaviour when he is drunk. He said bail conditions that prohibit Wolf Child from consuming alcohol are ineffective, and previous counseling and treatment have been unsuccessful, as well.
Lethbridge lawyer Claudia Connolly explained Wolf Child has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and suffers from severe addictions. He also has difficulty dealing with people and resources that exist to help the city’s vulnerable population because most of them will no longer take him as a client.
Connolly added there is a person who is willing to help Wolf Child and set up a treatment plan after he is released from jail.
Wolf Child was credited for the equivalent of 27 days spent in pre-trial custody, leaving him with a sentence of 93 days.
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