Duo draw probation for dognapping debacle

A shaggy dog story that started with an armed home invasion and attempted dognapping had a happy ending for the two would-be dognappers.

On Thursday Judge Peter McDermick sentenced 24-year-olds Dylon Sadillo McLemore and Shayn Robert Bulmer each to two years less a day in jail, and two years probation, for breaking and entering, two counts of uttering threats and – in the case of McLemore – possession of a firearm while prohibited. McLemore and Bulmer had been in custody since their arrest on May 29, 2020, and were released on Thursday with enhanced credit for the 441 days they’d already served in jail.

In issuing his sentence, McDermick agreed with the Crown prosecutor and defense lawyers that it was “an unconventional case,” and warranted a lower jail sentence than a normal home invasion involving a gun and imitation gun would. 

“All (the lawyers involved) were quick to emphasize this is not a conventional home invasion,” McDermick said. “This does not fit the pattern of a conventional home invasion.”

McLemore and Bulmer plead guilty to the charges, and the sentence imposed by McDermick was proposed as a joint submission by the Crown and their defense lawyers.

According to an agreed statement of facts presented by the Crown to the court, the duo burst through the unlocked door of a home in the 1800-block of Tamarack Street around 6:30 p.m. on May 29, 2020. The home invasion was “a high-energy affair,” with Bulmer wearing body armour and waving a BB gun that looked like an assault rifle, while McLemore was carrying an unloaded .22-calibre rifle.

Bulmer and McLemore shouted at two men in the home, violently waking up one of the men, and demanding they hand over a dog. A toddler, the daughter of a woman who lived in the home but was not there at the time, was asleep in another room.

“They threatened to blow our brains out,” the Crown lawyer quoted from a statement by one of the victims. The victims believed they were in danger and were traumatized by the incident, the lawyer said.

One of the men in the home recognized the pair, as they had gone to high school together. He talked to McLemore and Bulmer, who calmed down and explained that they were there to recover a dog that had been stolen during a break-and-enter by two women. They believed the woman who lived in the home had been part of the break-in and had taken the dog, they said, and they were there to get it back.

They lowered their weapons and allowed the man to call an acquaintance, who told her to bring the dog to the home immediately. However, something in the man’s tone made the woman suspicious and instead of bringing the dog, she phoned the police.

When the police arrived, Bulmer and McLemore ditched the guns and body armour inside the house and fled, only to be caught by police.

Bulmer’s lawyer said Bulmer had been drinking that day, and had been struggling with alcoholism at the time.

“Mr. Bulmer accepts responsibility. His decisions and actions on May 29, 2020 were very poorly made,” his lawyer said. “It was an event that was trying to recover some property that had been taken. Once the parties recognized each other, the guns were put down and a conversation occurs. It’s even more strange that when the police are noticed, the gun and pellet gun are left in the home.”

The lawyers for both men said they’d had difficult childhoods, both left home as young teenagers and struggled with homelessness and addiction. Since incarceration, both men had taken part in the Right Living unit at the prison, working in the prison, taking classes and, in McLemore’s case, painting murals inside the prison celebrating Indigenous culture and heritage.

Both have plans to seek stable employment and have stable housing lined up, their lawyers said.

“I want to say sorry for everything,” McLemore told the court. “We grew up together. I can say we’ll be uplifting our community.”

In addition to the jail time and probation, McDermick imposed a 10-year firearms ban on the two men and urged them to continue their positive life trajectory.

“Mr. McLemore is a young man, and certainly a talented artist, and he is trying to connect with his community,” McDermick said. “Good luck, gentlemen.”