A man whose arrest is being investigated by a civilian-based police watchdog has been given credit for jail time served after he agreed he was knowingly in a stolen vehicle.
Nathaniel Lazarus Basil was sentenced to 60 days in jail for possession of stolen property and a second consecutive sentence of 30 days for breaching the conditions of his bail related to that charge. In total he served 133 days in jail.
On Feb. 18, two days after a local man reported his pickup truck stolen, Basil was in the passenger seat of the 1998 Dodge beside Cuyler Richard Aubichon.
With the punched ignition visible, court heard the 28-year-old had to know it was stolen.
With the truck parked in the alley on the 2200-block of Oak and Norwood streets, a nearby video captured the arrest that earned the attention of the Independent Investigations Office.
It showed an RCMP officer using a service dog to pull Aubichon out of the truck and onto the ground before elbowing him in the head.
Three other officers were involved in the apprehension of Basil, who had got out on the other side.
His arrest was largely out of the camera's view but it appeared one of the officers had stomped on him. Both men were injured, with apparent cuts, lacerations and bruises.
In court Wednesday, the Crown simply said Aubichon had been arrested with the assistance of a service dog and that Basil was arrested after he stepped out of the truck.
The agreed statement of facts purposefully left outdetails of the arrest and the goal was to conclude Basil's criminal matters in court without impacting the IIO's work, court heard.
"The facts that I'll put before your honour are short, deliberately short, and cover only the possession of stolen property, acknowledging he was arrested by police," the Crown lawyer said.
"But I'll make no allegations about the manner in which he conducted himself in that investigation nor the manner in which the police conducted themselves. That is deliberate so as to leave that area of factual dispute to the IIO."
Aubichon was sentenced in August and also given credit for time served. His sentence - 120 days in jail - was longer because he was in the driver's seat, court heard.
Basil, who has a Grade 4 education, was also handed a one-year probation order that was "purely protective" to keep him away from Aubichon.
"I feel bad for what I do," Basil told provincial judge Shannon Keyes. "I should have learned by now to change my ways... I don't know what it is. Maybe I should know."
Court heard Basil has a lengthy criminal record and has been before the courts since he was 12. He has never held down a job, save for three weeks breaking down a camp in the bush.
His mother died at age 16 and both his parents were survivors of residential schools.
"He has had a difficult upbringing and he has various cognitive difficulties which affect his ability to learn from experience," said Keyes.
"It's clear from what Mr. Basil told me... that he finds it very difficult to understand how he doesn't learn to avoid trouble even though he wishes too."
Basil was also sentenced to one day and jail, credit time served, since he would not be able to pay the mandatory $100 victim surcharge.
