A BC Court of Appeal tribunal reduced a Fort St. John man’s three-year jail sentence to 22 months on June 10.
Adrian James Attachie, 34, pleaded guilty last July to using an imitation firearm to commit forced entry on Jan. 19, 2024. Attachie was under a firearms ban and two-year probation order at the time of the offences.
Crown proposed Attachie remain in jail for six to 12 months, minus time served, for an effective 13 to 19-months in jail.
Attachie’s lawyer proposed time served plus two-years probation.
The appeal submission argued the Provincial Court sentence was harsher than proposed by Crown, the judge did not ask 34-year-old Attachie if he had anything to say in court before the sentence was rendered and the judge improperly considered the poor police investigation.
“The core issue in this appeal involves Mr. Attachie’s assertion the judge’s consideration of his guilty pleas and the resulting decision to give them little or no weight as a mitigating factor, involved an error or errors in principle that impacted the sentence,” Fleming wrote in the verdict, concurred by Justices Patrice Abrioux and Karen Horsman.
Rather than the three-year sentence, Fleming said 12 months for using the imitation firearm and 10 months for forcible entry, plus 12 months probation, was a fit sentence.
“Commensurate with the gravity of the offences and the moral blameworthiness of Mr. Attachie in committing them, a global sentence of 22 months in prison and a probation order with conditions that reduce the risk of harm and provide for counselling and treatment including residential treatment, is proportionate,” Fleming decided.
Fleming also said Attachie would receive 242 days of pretrial custody credit.
