A Corner Brook man with a lengthy criminal record has been sent to jail for 30 days for threatening a woman in December.
Benjamin (Benny) Roberts was charged following a disturbance at a home on the city’s west side on Dec. 23.
Roberts and his victim have a history that has involved incidents of violence.
Related stories:
Corner Brook’s Benny Roberts accused of assaulting woman with three different weapons
Roberts sentenced to 105 days in jail for assaulting a peace officer
On Dec. 23 the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary received an anonymous complaint of a disturbance at a Caribou Road residence just before noon.
Responding officers found Roberts and the woman at the home and asked Roberts to leave. He said he wouldn’t go without his medications.
The woman was asked to retrieve his medications and was assisted by police in trying to find them.
At about 12:20 p.m. Roberts was told the medications couldn’t be found and he was asked to leave and not return.
He was outside at the time and looked towards the open door to the residence and shouted: “You know what I’ve got coming for you, bitch.”
He was asked by police what he meant and Roberts said he had two Rottweilers that he was going to set on her.
An officer told Roberts that constituted a threat.
He responded with: “That’s a f---ing promise.”
He was arrested and spent a night in jail before being released on a recognizance following a court appearance on Dec. 24.
Roberts was arrested for breaching that recognizance on Feb. 2.
When his matter was called for a bail hearing in provincial court on Tuesday morning, Roberts entered a guilty plea to the uttering threat charge.
After hearing the facts, Judge Catherine Allen-Westby entered a conviction on the charge and the charges related to the breach were withdrawn.
Crown attorney Lori St. Croix suggested the 30-day jail sentence was appropriate given Roberts’ criminal record, that includes previous convictions for uttering threats.
Legal aid lawyer Courtney Mills agreed that a 30-day sentence would be appropriate, but asked that Roberts be able to serve it as a conditional sentence.
She said he had no intention of carrying through with the threat.
Judge Allen-Westby, however, agreed with the Crown’s suggest and ordered the 30-day sentence be served in jail.
