Man gets 23 months for beating Caledonia builder
6Ns News
Sat Dec 24 2011 11:07:00
Man gets 23 months for beating Caledonia builder
CAYUGA Richard Smoke, a Six Nations man convicted of violently
attacking a Caledonia builder in 2007, was sentenced to just over 23
months Friday.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Alan Whitten handed Smoke two years and
11 months, but took into account the 11 and a half months the
22-year-old had spent in custody.
Smoke also received a 10-year weapon prohibition and will serve a
three-year probation after his imprisonment. Whitten noted Smoke should
have access to aboriginal support programming while serving his term.
On Sept. 13, 2007, Sam Gualtieri was beaten unconscious with a board
after he found three aboriginal youths in the home he was building for
his daughter in the Sterling Heights neighbourhood, where a land claim
dispute was unfolding.
The 56-year-old was left with ongoing brain injury and emotional trauma.
Smoke was convicted Sept. 2 of aggravated assault, and breaking and
entering with intent to commit an indictable offence.
Gualtieri said Friday he felt “totally disappointed” by the sentence
and that he expected Smoke to serve at least four years.
“It’s almost like I’ve been injured again,” Gualtieri said outside the
Cayuga courtroom.
“Even as more time goes by since we left that courtroom, I get really
angry,” said Gualtieri’s brother, Joe. “So I think we’ll go through all
the phases of shock, disappointment and anger, and hopefully, we’ll
accept it. But it’s going to take some time.”
Smoke’s sentence will not be enough to deter the crime from happening
to other families, Joe said, adding his brother would have died if
Smoke hit him one more time: “It seems timing is everything for
(Smoke). He’s lucked out with timing. The only person who hasn’t is my
brother, (living) in a lifetime of incarceration is his ‘new normal.’”
Smoke’s relative, Cheyenne Williams, said Smoke is really a “sweet guy”
and his sentence was better than they had feared. The Crown sought six
to eight years.
While there is programming for incarcerated aboriginal people, there is
no Six Nations-specific counselling, so they hope the shorter sentence
will mean Smoke will have a less difficult time reintegrating into his
community, said Williams, whose uncle is married to Smoke’s aunt.
“It’s hard for us realizing that one of our young men is going into a
jail system.”
Defence counsel Sarah Dover said Whitten’s ruling took both sides into
consideration.
“Very significantly, Justice Whitten noted that the ongoing conflict
between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities was a part of the
backdrop of this offence,” Dover said.
Dover is seeking clarity on whether Smoke will serve the sentence in a
federal or provincial facility because Whitten had noted his intention
was a penitentiary verdict, but he gave her client probation and
referenced provincial support programs.
905-526-2468 | @WongatTheSpec
[photo at link] Sam Gualtieri Sam Gualtieri says he's disappointed in
the sentence a judge handed down to Richard Smoke, who attacked him in
2007. Ron Albertson/The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/644013--man-gets-23-months-
for-beating-caledonia-builder
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