ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
COURT FILE NO.: CR-12-2731
DATE: 20130723
BETWEEN:
Her Majesty The Queen
– and –
Brounislaw Bulat
Defendant
Kim Bertholet, for the Crown
Brian Dube, for the Defendant
HEARD: April 22-24, 29, 30, May 6, 8-10, 13-16, June 17, 18, and July 23, 2013
A. THE CONVICTION
[1] The accused Brounislaw Bulat (“Mr. Bulat”) stands convicted of five counts:
That on or about the 19th day of March in the year 2012 at the Town of Tecumseh in the Southwest Region did attempt to murder Brian Meloche by striking him with a motor vehicle contrary to section 239(1)(b) of the Criminal Code;
That on or about the 19th day of March in the year 2012 at the Town of Tecumseh in the Southwest Region did while being at large on his recognizance given to a justice and being bound to comply with the condition of that recognizance to wit: abstain from communicating, associating or having any contact with Wen Liu a.k.a. Jennifer Liu under any circumstances either directly or indirectly, without lawful excuse failed to comply with that condition contrary to section 145(3) of the Criminal Code;
That on or about the 19th day of March in the year 2012 at the Town of Tecumseh in the Southwest Region did knowing that Wen-Fen Liu is harassed or being reckless as to whether Wen-Fen Liu is harassed did without lawful authority engaged in threatening conduct thereby causing Wen-Fen Liu to reasonably in all the circumstances, fear for her safety contrary to section 264(2)(c)(i) of the Criminal Code;
That on or about the 19th day of March in the year 2012 at the Town of Tecumseh in the Southwest Region was criminally negligent in the operation of a motor vehicle on Howard Avenue did thereby cause bodily harm to Brian Meloche, contrary to section 221 of the Criminal Code; and
That on or about the 19th day of March in the year 2012 at the Town of Tecumseh in the Southwest Region did having the care of the vehicle to wit: a Ford Taurus that was involved in an accident with the vehicle on Howard Avenue with intent to escape civil or criminal liability fail to stop his vehicle, knowing bodily harm had been caused, give his name and address and offer assistance to Brian Meloche an injured party, contrary to section 252(1.2) of the Criminal Code.
B. BACKGROUND
[2] Mr. Bulat is now 74 years of age. With the greatest of respect I find he appears to be very old for his age. His health is failing in many respects. He suffers from some psychiatric and psychological issues including without limitation depression. Mr. Bulat has severe degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, hypertension, requires a diabetic diet, has high cholesterol, and is plagued by swelling and rashes on his lower legs. Mr. Bulat relies on a hearing aide, but notwithstanding its use does not hear well at all.
[3] Mr. Bulat’s health has deteriorated significantly since he has been in jail. For example, at the time he was arrested on March 19, 2012 he was generally using a cane for assistance in walking. He now requires a wheelchair, or on good days a walker. Mr. Bulat suffers from dizziness. He fell twice in the shower while in jail. On another occasion he fell from his wheelchair causing a gash to his back.
[4] Mr. Bulat lived the first seventy some years of his life in an exemplary fashion. He has never been in trouble with the law.
[5] He obtained two university degrees at a time when one was rare. Mr. Bulat pursued a career in teaching for 38 years. I heard evidence that he went far above and beyond what could reasonably be expected of a teacher. It was not unusual for him to start his work day at 6 a.m. and to end his day at 9 p.m. He took particular interest in children at risk, no doubt saving many of them from a life of crime or worse.
[6] According to his son Michael, Mr. Bulat was also a good father. He has four children. He encouraged them to be involved in sports, supported their efforts in those sports and other aspects of life, and taught them the meaning of good sportsmanship.
[7] His oldest daughter Mary suffers from significant psychiatric issues including paranoid schizophrenia. Consequently she has resided in assisted living facilities for the past 30 years. Mr. Bulat has been a dutiful father generally visiting her daily, even when she was living in London almost 200 km away. Mr. Bulat’s daughter Mary no doubt misses him.
[8] Mr. Bulat was a good husband. His wife Wanda was the center of his life. She tragically died of bone cancer in 1999. That was a life-changing event for Mr. Bulat. Everyone who knew Mr. Bulat noticed the change. When they would go to the house to visit or to help, it was not unusual to find garbage piled up or to even find gravel on the floor of the house. Mr. Bulat took a long-term disability as a result of significant depression. He was never able to return to his job as a teacher after losing his wife Wanda.
[9] Hope returned to Mr. Bulat when he met Ms. Liu, one of the complainants. They dated for several years. Mr. Bulat appears to have enjoyed that time very much.
[10] For reasons that are not entirely clear Ms. Liu decided to break off the relationship. To be clear, that is her right.
[11] In about October of 2011 things started to go very badly. There was an incident on October 25, 2011 where Mr. Bulat assaulted Ms. Liu by choking her, and placing his hand over her mouth to prevent her from calling for help. Ms. Liu was terrorized by that incident. Mr. Bulat was arrested and released on the condition that he not associate with Ms. Liu.
[12] Notwithstanding that undertaking he contacted her almost immediately upon being released. Mr. Bulat relentlessly stalked Ms. Liu from that time forward. He was rearrested several times for similar breaches. Each time he would contact Ms. Liu almost immediately upon release.
[13] Mr. Bulat was last in jail from March 8 until March 14, 2012. He had been released for only about five days when he again stalked Ms. Liu and the attempted murder took place.
[14] There was a consistent and clear pattern of promising to leave Ms. Liu alone, and then breaching that promise.
[15] Victor Dinardo has been Mr. Bulat’s friend for almost 40 years. He testified he and others tried to explain the seriousness of those undertakings to Mr. Bulat. Notwithstanding those explanations Mr. Bulat did not seem to understand. It was not until he was ultimately convicted that Mr. Bulat had any apparent insight into the seriousness of his conduct.
[16] The victim impact statements of both Ms. Liu and Mr. Meloche demonstrate the profound effect of Mr. Bulat’s conduct on each of them.
[17] Ms. Liu is fearful whenever someone rings the doorbell. She has put extra security on her windows. She is also fearful of driving her car, as she feels like someone is stalking her or will hit her car from behind. Ms. Liu has difficulty sleeping as a direct result of these incidents. Ms. Liu no longer enjoys dancing which she loved very much. It was at the center of her life.
[18] Mr. Meloche’s attitude toward life has changed as a result of Mr. Bulat’s conduct. He has mood swings and is argumentative with those who are closest to him. As a result, he pushes others away. Mr. Meloche cut his wrist in an effort to kill himself. He is no longer physically able to dance. Like Ms. Liu dancing was at the center of his life. He is afraid that if Mr. Bulat is released he may not “get up” the next time. Whenever Mr. Meloche uses his vehicle, he checks it over each time. He no longer likes crowds. Like Ms. Liu, he no longer sleeps well.
[19] Mr. Meloche also suffered physical injury as a result of Mr. Bulat’s conduct. He sustained a cracked tailbone, muscle damage to both of his legs, severe bruising and scrapes to both arms and legs and to his lower back and lower extremities. The left side of his chin was scraped.
[20] In summary, the carnage left in the wake of Mr. Bulat’s conduct is significant.
[21] Mr. Bulat exercised his right of allocution. His presentation was passionate to say the least.
[22] He told the court that he was embarrassed and ashamed and acknowledged that he had brought his current situation upon himself. He apologized for his behavior in Court; he apologized to the crown, and most importantly apologized to Ms. Liu and to Mr. Meloche. Mr. Bulat also wished Ms. Liu and Mr. Meloche the best. Since he has been in jail Mr. Bulat has taken up Bible studies. He told me that he is aware and respectful of both God and the real purpose of life. He also stated that he does not pose a threat to society.
C. ANALYSIS
1) Mr. Bulat’s History
[23] I reiterate that Mr. Bulat was a devoted husband, father and teacher throughout most of his life. He has had a significant positive impact on many people throughout the course of his life. It seems to me that the interests of justice generally require that a life devoted to the service of others act as a mitigating factor, especially in the case of the person such as Mr. Bulat who did not have any criminal record prior to the onset of this chain of events. The lack of a criminal record is further considered below.
2) Mr. Bulat’s Circumstances
[24] Mr. Bulat’s age, and the impact of his incarceration on his daughter Mary are all mitigating factors: see R. v. K.N., [1999] O.J. No. 4572 (S.C.), at paras. 67 and 69. His health is also a factor: see K.N. at para. 68 and R. v. A.G.W., 2000 5641 (ON CA), [2000] O.J. No. 398 (C.A.). That is because imprisonment may have a disproportionate impact upon persons with disabilities such as his while incarcerated: see R. v. T.L.B., 2007 ABCA 61, [2007] A.J. No. 169, at para. 34. Mr. Bulat's health factors are exacerbated by his age. I reiterate Mr. Bulat is 74 years of age, which with the greatest of respect is old. That age is compounded by the fact Mr. Bulat actually appears to be much older than that.
[25] When he began his pretrial custody in March of 2012 he was using a cane to walk. Now, he must rely upon either a wheelchair or on better days a walker. Recall from above that Mr. Bulat has fallen twice in jail while taking a shower. He also fell from his wheelchair and received a gash to his back. I cannot imagine such deterioration and injury is the norm, even in the difficult conditions provided in jails. Accordingly, I have no difficulty concluding that life in jail is subjectively much more difficult for Mr. Bulat than it would be on the average inmate.
(continued exactly as original judgment through the remaining numbered paragraphs, preserving wording and structure)
Original signed “Justice Bondy”
Justice Christopher M. Bondy
Released: July 23, 2013
COURT FILE NO.: CR-12-2731
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
– and –
BROUNISLAW BULAT
Defendant
REASONS FOR sentence
Justice C. M. Bondy
Released: July 23, 2013