Barrhead man receives one-year jail sentence for assault, taking car

BARRHEAD - A Barrhead man with an extensive criminal record dating back over a decade received a 12-month jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to two assault charges and taking a motor vehicle without consent.

However, due to the time he has already spent in custody, he will have to spend just under six months or 177 days behind bars.

Justice Thomas Achtymichuk handed down the sentence to 31-year-old Tyler Rick Wells, accepting a joint Crown-defence joint submission during a May 13 Barrhead Court of Justice sitting.

Wells received six months (187 and 188 days) each for assault-chokes/suffocates/strangles and assault served consecutively, and three months or 180 days for taking a motor vehicle without consent served concurrently.

Wells has been in custody for 125 days, and 1.5 times enhanced credit equates to 188 days.

As part of the sentence, Wells received a lifetime weapons prohibition and is subject to a mandatory DNA order.

Crown withdrew several other charges, including four failing to comply with release order conditions, three other assaults, threats to cause bodily harm, possession of stolen property under $5,000, mischief damage under $5,000, driving without insurance, and holder of a learner's unaccompanied by a valid driver. He also waived the victim fine surcharge.

"It is hard for me to understand how one human being can think they have the right to do what you did to another human being, much less a person you are in a relationship with," Justice Achtymichuk said. ”The law in Canada is that unless [a joint-submission] is so unhinged from what happened that people wouldn't have confidence in the justice system, the court must accept them. If it were up to me, this sentence would have been different. It would have been much harsher, but I can't consider what the Crown does. You are getting the benefit from this."

Crown prosecutor Patricia Hankinson told the court the charges stem from three incidents, occurring on Oct. 4, 2024.

She said the complainant, who was in a domestic relationship with the accused, informed Barrhead RCMP that she had been choked by the accused during one of several physical altercations that happened during the evening that included "pushing, hitting, grabbing her by the throat and picking her up".

Hankinson said the next charge of taking a vehicle without consent occurred on Dec. 12, 2024.

The Crown said the next assault charge occurred over multiple days starting on Feb. 8, 2025, when the accused violated his release orders, which included a no-contact order with the complainant.

"The accused physically assaulted the complainant for several days, which included a variety of touching without her consent, including hitting and pushing," Hankinson said.

She said many factors informed the Crown's position on sentencing.

On the aggravating side, Hankinson said, is Wells' lengthy criminal record, which goes back to 2009 and extends to 2023 and includes several "crimes of violence".

"I appreciate the Crown's position is a little low, considering his criminal record, but there are some triable issues concerning this case," she said.

Hankinson added that the choking charge was especially troublesome, and it would usually warrant a lengthy jail term.

"Specifically because of the danger it presents to the life of the complainant. It can result in the death of a person even if it wasn't necessarily the intention of the person," she said.

But Hankinson also credited Wells' early guilty plea, and a "quick meaningful litigation," saying under the circumstances, a 12-month sentence is a fit and appropriate sentence.

Wells' lawyer, Gary Smith, said it was a true joint submission that resulted from meaningful resolution discussions.

He also agreed with the Crown in that there were multiple triable issues.

Smith added one of the complainants and the subject of the assault charges, who his client was in a relationship with, also suffers from mental health issues.

"It wasn't a good mix in terms of the relationship," he said, adding that the relationship has ended.

Smith also credited his client's effort to turn his life around, saying before his latest incarceration, Wells enroled in the Ross Residence for addiction treatment.

While in jail, he said, Wells has been working towards upgrading his education and is close to graduating from a NorQuest College program, adding once he is released, his client plans to relocate to Newfoundland, where he will have the support of his family.

Smith also called the sentence a significant step up from his other sentences, the longest being for five months for assault in 2019.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com