A woman sentenced to time served March 26 in Prince George provincial court must not return to the University Hospital of Northern B.C. (UHNBC) unless she needs emergency medical care or is sent there by a doctor or probation officer.
Danielle Laura Jewett, 40, pleaded guilty to mischief under $5,000 and breach of an undertaking. Judge Michael Brecknell sentenced her to 14 days on each count. She had spent 26 days in custody and was eligible for 39 days credit.
Court heard that Jewett stopped a bystander March 1 and claimed she had been assaulted by hospital staff. A security worker told Prince George RCMP that Jewett started to yell as she was being escorted out of the hospital following her discharge, made racial comments toward workers and attacked cars with her cane once outside the hospital.
On March 10, police were called to UHNBC shortly after midnight when Jewett refused to leave the emergency department after being discharged, contrary to conditions from a previous case.
The sentencing hearing was delayed several times due to Jewett’s verbal outbursts in the video hearing room at Prince George Regional Correctional Centre. A relative from Kamloops joined the web conference to suggest she could get needed services there.
Brecknell unsuccessfully asked if she would consent to remain in custody until April 1 so she could be transported to Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre for her release.
Brecknell described Jewett as a regular attendee of UHNBC due to complex health needs, including vision loss, physical difficulties and mental illness that she denies. He agreed with the joint Crown and defence proposal for the 14-day sentences on each charge and ordered her to be on probation for the next year.
