Not exactly the best way of "calling" his fiance, Ashley Roger Desrosiers (born 1974) threw a phone at her, March 18 of this year.
The hurling of the phone came amid a morning fight in Honeymoon Bay the couple was engaged in, which included Desrosiers punching his fiance in the face several times, in addition to choking her.
Desrosiers was found guilty of assault with a weapon during a Tuesday, September 6, appearance at the Duncan Law Courts.
He received a suspended sentence of 18 months, with the condition that he no longer be in contact with his victim, and not be in the same place as her.
"If he'd violate one, he'd be back in court," Lake Cowichan RCMP Cpl. Warren Potter said.
This assault case proved a quick one for the Duncan Law Courts, consisting of only three court appearances.
Other locally-occurring cases
Impaired driving proved a costly endeavour for Susan Lynn Anderson (born 1954).
Facing charges related to a November 21, 2008, impaired driving incident in Lake Cowichan, Anderson was found guilty at the end of a Tuesday, September 6, trial at the Duncan Law Courts.
Anderson's sentence includes a $1,000 fine and a criminal driving prohibition for two years.
The long court process to get to this point dates back to January 13, 2009, and included four bench warrants issued for Anderson.
• Driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention netted Danielle Moira McKenzie (born 1990) a hefty $1,000 fine.
The fine has been a long time coming, with the offence taking place in Lake Cowichan, January 16, 2010.
Lake Cowichan RCMP Cpl. Warren Potter said that the incident took place during a road check, with an RCMP member smelling liquor on McKenzie’s breath. A subsequent test resulted in McKenzie breathing a fail, leading to a impaired driving investigation.
Sometimes the crown finds there isn’t enough evidence, or there’s some technicality that could prevent a conviction for impaired driving. That was the case with this investigation.
“They just reduced it to a driving without due care or attention,” he said. “They still get charged with something, but it’s not a criminal code.”
• For allegedly driving while prohibited in Lake Cowichan, April 14, 2010, Phillip Michael Defriend (born 1985) is clear to go to trial, October 3.
Defriend's case most recently appeared at the Duncan Law Courts, Tuesday, September 3, for a trial confirmation hearing.
• Last week's Duncan Law Courts story – about a poaching case that was stayed (tentatively thrown out) due to a two year delay – did not state the specifics of the charges.
Charges had included unlawful possession of dead wildlife; hunting, taking, trapping, wounding, or killing wildlife out of season; and caring for or possessing a loaded firearm in a conveyance, all in connection to an incident involving elk near Kissinger Lake.
The crown is currently considering an appeal.
The accused were Li Bo Cao (born 1970), Jing Pu Chen (born 1964), Shang Jun Han (born 1976), and Wei Guang Wang (born 1963).