Man sentenced for assault and shoplifting

By Delon Shurtz on July 24, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Calgary man who became violent after he stopped taking his medication has received a two-month jail sentence.
Blaine Meakin was sentenced Friday in Lethbridge court, where he pleaded guilty to several counts of assault and a charge of shoplifting. He was also placed on probation for a year and fined $500.
Court was told Meakin, 25, was at the downtown transit terminal in February, where he was seen yelling and screaming at buses. A security guard who saw Meakin, intervened when Meakin ran toward a bus. Concerned that Meakin was going to damage the bus, the guard intercepted the charging man, but Meakin turned on him and kicked him in the leg and punched him in the face. Meakin was ultimately subdued and police arrived to arrest him.
“Mr. Meakin was seated on the sidewalk, banging his head against the wall, after his arrest,” said Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles.
Calgary lawyer Alan Fay explained his client was, at the time, “in a bit of a bad state, mentally,” and his memory of the events is “fuzzy.” But he instructed his lawyer to admit the facts stated by the Crown.
In another incident last January, Meakin was at the homeless shelter and became upset at some of the shelter protocols and started yelling. One of the employees tried to remove Meakin from the premises and was punched in the face after Meakin forcibly removed the employee’s mask. A fellow employee then stepped in to help, but Meakin pulled his mask off, as well, and spit at him. A third staff member intervened, had his mask pulled off, then Meakin pushed him.
When police arrived, Meakin “was railing on about face masks and their connection with the devil.” One of the officers arrested Meakin, and while placing him in handcuffs, Meakin kicked him, reached for some of the items on his utility belt, and stomped on his feet.
Giles pointed out that even though Meakin suffers from schizophrenia, his condition is not such that it excuses him from criminal responsibility.
Fay told court Meakin has been afflicted with mental illness “for some time,” and he was suffering from the effects of that illness when he committed the offences. However, a forensic assessment determined he was fit to stand trial, but he was also diagnosed as having a “psychosis not otherwise specified,” and he suffers from alcohol and substance abuse.
“He stops taking medication, which would otherwise keep him in good shape, and then exacerbates it with the use of street drugs.”
Fay said Meakin was surprised and ashamed when he learned about his actions, and grateful no one was seriously hurt.
“I am really sorry,” Meakin told the judge.
Although handed a jail sentence, Meakin was given full credit for the equivalent of time he spent in custody following his arrest, which concludes his sentence. Fay pointed out his client doesn’t plan to return to Lethbridge, and only left Calgary because he believed people were trying to harm him.
“He realizes that that was misguided, so his intent is to remain in Calgary.”

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