ATHABASCA – A Lac La Biche-area man spent 50 days behind bars after he was arrested for a late February assault that left his at-the-time partner bleeding and unconscious.
In Athabasca Court of Justice April 22 Leonard Cardinal, 47, pleaded guilty to assault despite the lack of an offer in place. Defence counsel Richard Mirasty and Crown prosecutor Anthony Estephan differed in their requests, with Mirasty looking to for a time-served sentence and Estephan looking for an additional 40 days.
Justice Joanne Heudes accepted Cardinal’s guilty plea, which came despite his alcohol-induced memory gap and a request from the victim to drop the charges, telling him he did deserve custody. Heudes also accepted Mirasty’s submissions that Cardinal didn’t have a history of intimate partner violence and instead had an alcohol issue — while Cardinal had prior assaults on his record, they were both over a decade old and stemmed from bar fights in the Lac La Biche area.
“You have a very young daughter from what I understand, with some very significant health concerns,” said Heudes, who had presided over Cardinal’s case on two earlier occasions. “I know your mind is elsewhere throughout this, with her, and you very much need to be with her during this.”
Heudes choose to go with Mirasty’s suggested time-served sentence of 50 days — Cardinal will also serve an 18-month probation.
Cardinal had been in custody since his arrest after his bail hearing, conducted as a self-representative, left him remanded. Since then, he had told court on each appearance that he was desperate to get out to be with his daughter.
Since COVID, Mirasty said his client had been in a relationship with the victim in the case, which he referred to as a toxic relationship.
“He has very little recollection (the assault) happening. Suffice to say, since he has been in a relationship with (the victim), they drank, often together and sometimes too much, said Mirasty.” “He’s indicated that it’s over, and she’s indicated that to me as well.”
Mirasty read two emails out loud to the court, which he said came from the woman, in which she asked for the charges to dropped and acknowledged that her statement to the RCMP was, at least in part, fabricated. The Crown acknowledged the letters but did say they were unable to independently verify and confirm that they had come from the complainant.
The facts
Estephan told court that on Jan. 24, Cardinal and his partner were at their home in Cornwall, where they had both been drinking. Cardinal followed the woman into the kitchen, where he grabbed her by the hair and the back of her neck. Estephan said he banged her head into a kitchen cupboard, breaking the door, before also hitting her head off the refrigerator and the kitchen floor.
The woman woke up to Cardinal holding her head in an attempt to start the bleeding.
Mirasty said his client admitted the facts, although he didn’t have any memory of the event due to intoxication.
“He admits that it probably happened or that it could’ve happened,” said Mirasty.
