A rampage in the University Heights area nearly two years ago has yielded a further 560 days in jail for a Vanderhoof man.
Danial Stuart Sundman, 54, must also serve three years probation once he's completed his jail term under a sentence issued Monday in Prince George provincial court.
A tearful Sundman apologized for his actions when given a chance to speak to the court.
"I feel deeply I have caused harm," he said.
Sundman was arrested on the evening of Nov. 14, 2013 after RCMP were called to a report of a man striking a woman with a hammer after she refused to hand over the keys to her car.
She had been checking her mail at a superbox near the entrance to the subdivision when he hopped into the car. When she tried to pull the keys out of the ignition, Sundman hit her in the temple with a hard object in a plastic bag and she took off to a neighbour's to call police, the court heard.
Moments later, RCMP received a second 911 call saying a man punched a woman in the face after gaining entry into her home near where the first incident occurred. Police arrived on the scene to find a gas can on the lawn and the front door window smashed open.
The woman told them she had refused to let Sundman in when he first asked to use the phone and then when he said he had run out of gas. He then left and she saw him at the superbox with the first woman before he returned and asked him to call a taxi.
She refused once again and retreated into her bedroom to call 911 when she heard a crash and then heard him going through the kitchen. Sundman demanded her keys and purse and, as she screamed at him to get out, he punched her in the face, the court heard.
At that point, she ran out of the house and soon saw Sundman leave with her purse in his hand.
As police arrived at the scene, they received a third 911 call in which they were told a man struck another man with a drain pipe on Kinney Court, about a block away from the first two assaults, before fleeing on foot.
The man said he was waiting outside the home for a real estate agent when Sundman approached him and demanded his truck keys before pulling out a piece of aluminum gutter and swinging it at him.
Sundman then let go and the piece of gutter hit the man in the side of his face. As Sundman then walked towards the house and picked up a piece of wood to resume his attack, the man called RCMP and started backing up.
Sundman then took off into a wooded area and by that time police had brought in a dog who tracked him to the Charella Gardens neighbourhood. At about 6:45 p.m. a homeowner on Bona Dea Drive flagged down an RCMP member to say a man had broken into his house. Police arrived to find Sundman in the man's truck trying to start it and arrested him.
Sundman's lawyer, Robert Lyons, acknowledged his client has an extensive criminal record but also noted there was no trouble for about 11 years when he was married.
"It seems that when Mr. Sundman's life is stable, he is not committing any offences," Lyons said.
The court heard that a month or so before the incident, Sundman had returned to his home in Vanderhoof from Alberta where he had been working to find himself arrested for a breach of probation and, consequently, had lost his job.
A sobbing Sundman said he and his girlfriend had also split up and, because he couldn't stay with her, he had been camping out in his vehicle the night before. Then he ran out of gas and set out to seek some help.
"I had no intentions to committing any crimes when I headed out that evening with my gas jug to get gas but I got lost in the bush for two or three hours, walking around aimlessly in the bush trying to find my way out," Sundman said.
"(I) found my way out just above these residents, I was asking for help, I was refused help and I don't know, I guess something just went sideways and I deeply regret doing it."
The three assault victims received minor injuries although two of them noted psychological effects from the incident in their victim impact statements. The one attack had some of the hallmarks of a home invasion in that he knew the woman was at home, but she was not confined against her will, it was also noted.
Sundman pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and two counts of break and enter and in all, he was sentenced to four years in jail. He received credit for 900 days time served in custody prior to sentencing, based on 1.5 days for each of the 600 days he has been at Prince George Regional Correctional Centre since his arrest.
Since that reduced the time left to serve to a provincial term, the court was also able to sentence him to probation. Noting Sundman seems to stay out of trouble when he's working, Judge Michael Brecknell waved a curfew for the times he is living in camp.
Sundman, who must pay $2,150 in restitution to two of the victims and write formal apologies to all four of them, said his goal now is to "get out and move on and I hope that my victims can move on as well."
