Lengthy jail sentence expected for vicious domestic abuse
A Plymouth Road man who admitted to beating and abusing his former partner for weeks is expected to receive a lengthy jail term for his crimes.
Andrew Pelkey, 45, appeared for trial in provincial court on Sept. 19 and changed his plea to guilty on several charges laid by RCMP. Judge Karen Lee set his sentencing date for Dec. 17 at 1:30 p.m. to allow for the submission of a victim impact statement.
Pelkey pleaded guilty to five of eight charges on summary conviction. He pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon (a belt, bottle and stick), assaulting a woman by choking her, uttering threats, pointing a firearm at another person, and careless use of a firearm.
The crown will withdraw charges of possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace (BB guns and a pellet gun), assault, and willfully causing pain to a dog by shooting it with a pellet gun. The woman told police two dogs were shot and killed by the accused, but Pelkey refused to admit it.
The court heard the charges involved a series of violent domestic assaults between Feb. 1, 2023, and March 21, 2023, at Richmond Corner. The woman suffered head and facial injuries, bruises to her arms and back, and a cut on her leg.
She was kicked, beaten with a belt and belt buckle, and hit over the head with a stick of wood and a plastic liquor bottle. Pelkey also pulled her hair, choked her on the living room floor, put a knife to her throat, and tore her clothes.
During one incident, he shot the victim with a BB gun. One other morning, she woke up to a beating when he smashed her in the teeth. She finally went to the police and told them his violent attacks were escalating, and she feared for her life.
Police arrested Pelkey when an emergency intervention order was issued to remove him from the home. Police found and seized five firearms (BB guns and a pellet gun) in the residence.
The woman told the crown it took a month for all of her injuries to heal, and she still suffers from headaches. She has no further contact with the accused. She attended court with family members who sat with her in the gallery.
Pelkey sat with his head down and looked at the floor as the details of the domestic violence were revealed. He then stood, telling Judge Lee he was pleading guilty and the facts of the case were correct.
Pelkey also faces separate charges of failing to appear in court on Dec. 19, 2023, and breaching his release order by violating curfew on Sept. 30, 2023. Those charges were adjourned for plea until his sentencing in December.
Video of wrong lane driver records screams from accident
The danger caused by a driver in the wrong lane was recorded by the dash cam of the victims he met on the Trans Canada Highway near Nackawic on April 26.
Logan Sanders, 25, of Bloomfield, appeared in custody in provincial court on Sept. 20, where the court played the video for his sentencing hearing before Judge Karen Lee.
The court heard screams from inside an eastbound vehicle as it swerved to avoid Sanders in an oncoming car and then rolled over in a ditch on the four-lane highway at 5:46 p.m. A Plaster Rock woman and three youths were not injured.
Sanders sped on and didn’t stop for the accident. He was arrested the following day near the Woodstock/Houlton border after being spotted driving a speeding car with a damaged front bumper in downtown Woodstock.
Sanders pleaded guilty to indictable dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. He has no prior criminal record.
Sanders also pleaded guilty to committing mischief by damaging a woodstove, walls, door and a table at a residence between Dec. 1 and 31, 2023, in Bloomfield; guilty to two counts of uttering threats on Sept. 1, 2023, in Bloomfield; and guilty to mischief by damaging doors, windows and the interior of a camp between Oct. 1 and 31, 2023, in Maple Ridge.
The crown withdrew another charge of assault with a weapon (a knife) involving a male victim on Sept. 1, 2023, in Bloomfield.
Sanders was remanded after the accident and denied bail on May 30.
Family members told police Sanders was on a rampage and struggled with mental health issues.
His sentencing was adjourned until Oct. 1 at 1:30 p.m. to allow for the submission of victim impact statements. Crown Prosecutor Cathleen Trafton told the court she would ask for more jail time for the accused. Defence Counsel Brent Dickinson suggested he would recommend time served.
Probation and a $400 fine
Kayla Dawn Tibbits, 32, of Woodstock, appeared in court in custody on Sept. 18 after being arrested on a warrant for failing to appear in court. She pleaded guilty to charges laid by Woodstock Police and was sentenced to 12 months of probation. She was also fined $400 and released.
Tibbits was charged with two counts of shoplifting at the Atlantic Superstore in Woodstock on Jan. 10, 2023, and on Sept. 6, 2023, and one violation of the Trespass Act. She was offered alternative measures but failed to complete the program.
Cowper bail hearing adjourned
Riley Cowper, 19, of Limestone, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Sept. 19 for his bail hearing after being charged in an alleged violent attack on another local man. The hearing was adjourned until Sept. 26 at 1:30 p.m. to allow him more time to secure legal counsel.
RCMP charged Cowper with attempted murder by using a hammer and a wrench to assault Rodney Butler, mischief causing property damage to a car window, uttering threats, and robbery of a vehicle in connection with an incident on Aug. 10 at Jackson Falls.
He was arrested on Aug. 13 and ordered to have no contact with Butler, who police said was treated at hospital for injuries and later released.
Cowper is also facing a separate charge of assault with a weapon (a hammer and tire iron) involving another man on March 23, 2022. That trial was adjourned to Dec. 16 at 9:30 a.m.
In custody awaiting plea
Edward Hayes Jr., 29, of Benton, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Sept. 19 for plea on several charges laid by RCMP. The matter was adjourned until Oct. 3 at 9:30 a.m. at the request of his defence counsel.
Hayes was denied bail on Aug. 29. He was charged with refusing a breathalyzer demand, resisting arrest, assaulting two police officers, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, assault on a female victim, mischief causing property damage to a vehicle, and driving while prohibited in connection with an incident on Aug. 27 at Centreville.
Hayes also faces a separate charge of assault involving a female on June 17 at a residence in Centreville.
Woodstock man awaits bail hearing
Corey Andrew Lane, 39, of Woodstock, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Sept. 19 for plea on charges laid by Woodstock Police. The matter was adjourned until Oct. 3 at 9:30 a.m. His bail hearing will be held at that time.
Lane was charged with prowling at night near a dwelling house on Main Street in Woodstock and breach of probation on May 28.
RCMP also charged him with uttering threats, mischief causing property damage to a vehicle, and breach of a no-contact order following an incident on July 18 at Jackson Falls.
Lane was also charged with assault involving a female victim, uttering threats and breach of a no-contact order for another incident on July 15. He appeared in court in custody on July 23 and waived his bail until later.
He also appeared in provincial court on May 21 and pleaded not guilty to other separate charges laid by RCMP. His trial date was set for June 9, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.
Lane was charged with assault involving a female victim on Jan. 1 at Newbridge, and breach of a no-contact order on Feb. 7 at Newbridge. He was also charged with failing to appear in court on March 5 and March 14, breaching an undertaking by violating a no-contact order on Feb. 7 at Newbridge, and breach of a release order on April 23 at Woodstock. He was ordered to have no contact with the complainant.
Ontario pair returns for plea
Two Polish immigrants, who failed to appear in August on theft charges, returned to provincial court in Woodstock on Sept. 19 for plea. They were assisted in the proceedings by a Polish interpreter via teleconference.
Jan Kaminski, 53, and Monika Kwiatkowska, 44, of Etobicoke, Ontario, were jointly charged by RCMP with four counts of theft. They were released from custody on July 25 on a $1,000 bail bond and ordered to immediately return to their Ontario residence under house arrest.
They were charged for a series of thefts linked to the online sale of stolen goods. They were ordered to return to Woodstock for plea on Aug. 27. Arrest warrants were issued when they failed to appear.
On Sept. 19, Judge Karen Lee adjourned their plea until Oct. 31 at 9:30 a.m. at their defence counsel’s request. They will appear by video from their lawyer’s office in Toronto. The warrants for their arrest were vacated.
The theft charges were laid following a series of shoplifting incidents at Best Home Hardware stores in Florenceville-Bristol and Hartland on March 5, at Best Home Hardware in Florenceville-Bristol on July 3, and at Brennan Home Hardware in Florenceville-Bristol on July 20.
During their court appearance on Sept. 19, a new charge of breaching a release order was laid against each of them for failing to report to the police.
Kaminski and Kwiatkowska were arrested in connection with numerous thefts in New Brunswick and across Canada including Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
They allegedly advertised items for sale online via Facebook Marketplace and on Amazon. Once an interested buyer was identified, the two accused made a list of items and proceeded to steal them from different businesses. They would then immediately ship the items to the buyer. Police are actively working to determine if there were other victims.
Agreed to peace bond
William Paul McCarron, 51, of Woodstock, appeared for trial in provincial court on Sept. 18 after pleading not guilty to one charge laid by Woodstock Police.
McCarron was charged with uttering threats against a female victim in connection with an incident on Oct. 26, 2022, near Woodstock. He agreed to sign a 12-month peace bond and the trial did not proceed. The peace bond will result in the withdrawal of the threat charge.
Trial rescheduled on sex charge
Matthew White, 42, of Upper Woodstock, will appear for trial in provincial court on Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. on a sex charge laid by RCMP. The trial was scheduled for Sept. 18 but was adjourned to the new date.
White was charged with invitation to sexual touching involving a female minor in connection with an incident on June 3, 2023, in Bloomfield. He pleaded not guilty.
