Mugger destroyed noted social worker's career, court hears

A prominent Prince George social worker told the court Thursday that her life was turned "completely upside down" by a man who knocked her to the ground during a brazen daylight mugging.

In the course of reading out a victim impact statement, Diane Nakamura said she continues to suffer the effects of the injuries she suffered in the attack more than two years ago.

Crown counsel is seeking 12-20 months in jail followed by three years probation for Marshall Randolph Schulze for the Oct. 29, 2018 assault. Defence counsel will argue for time served plus three years probation.

A video from a security camera presented at the hearing showed Schulze running up behind Nakamura as she was walking along Fifth Avenue near Quebec Street then grabbing her backpack, then Nakamura grabbing it back. The two then go to the ground where their actions are obscured by a parked car.

Two men happened on the scene and held Schulze to the ground until police arrived, the court was told. Nakamura, meanwhile, complained to police of "considerable pain" and a goose egg from her head from hitting the sidewalk and was taken to hospital.

Due to the lengthy list of problems caused by the concussion she suffered, Nakamura said she is no longer able to continuing working at the job she loved. The problems include an inability to concentrate and handle stressful situations and extreme fatigue that leaves her "completely exhausted" by the late afternoon.

Nakamura, who was named a Citizen of the Year by the Prince George Community Foundation just a month before the attack, said her personality has changed from happy, outgoing and empathetic to feeling dead inside, "no spark, no light." In a separate statement, Nakamura's spouse said her "fun and energetic spirit has disappeared" and she often sleeps 12-18 hours a day.

Prior to the robbery, Nakamura said she had dedicated her working life to helping people on the margins, struggling with poverty, homelessness and addictions. 

"I find this whole situation very ironic because I used to help people like you," Nakamura told Schulze as he sat in the gallery. "And now, because of what you did, my career has been destroyed." 

Nakamura also called Schulze's actions "self-centred" and that while she forgives him, it is only so she can move on and added that being high on drugs was no excuse for what he did.

"I didn't deserve to be assaulted and left with a permanent brain injury," she said.

The court heard that 11 days before the attack, Schulze had been sentenced to a term of probation after pleading guilty to a count of mischief for attacking people with a stick while at a park in Vancouver's Downtown East Side.

As part of the sentence, he had been ordered to attend residential treatment at Baldy Hughes just outside Prince George. He got a ride from his brother to Prince George, but he was "dropped off generally" in the city and never reported to the centre.

In a pre-sentence report, Schulze acknowledged using drugs at the time, including crystal methamphetamine. Schulze also took full responsibility for the act but claimed he committed the offence so he could be arrested and get treatment.

Although Schulze did not intend to injure Nakamura, Crown counsel argued the consequence was "objectively foreseeable." But countering the many aggravating factors, Crown also noted Schulze has turned his life around since his release from custody roughly four months after the arrest. He has successfully completed a residential treatment program, landed steady employment and is now living a sober lifestyle, the court was told.

As such, Provincial Court Judge Michael Brecknell was told he faces a "difficult balancing act" in determining an appropriate sentence.

Submissions from defence counsel will be heard at a later date.