Married soldier found guilty of beating his date with tire iron

[Blakey]

Sweet F***ing Jesus, here we go again...
Fair dealings etc...
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/06/12/pf-4253944.html

Soldier guilty in bad date

Beat woman with tire iron

By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU

An Edmonton soldier admitted yesterday to assaulting a woman he met through a telephone dating service by clubbing her over the head with a tire iron.

And court heard there are concerns the married soldier could be a sex addict.

Cpl. William Joseph Drake, 35, was sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty in provincial court to the lesser and included charge of assault causing bodily harm.

SENTENCE SERVED

However, he has already served his sentence as a result of the time he has spent in pre-trial custody since being arrested for the armed attack.

Drake had been initially charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in relation to the Sept. 15 incident in north Edmonton.

Court heard Drake, a military equipment driver with 1 Service Battalion, had met the victim on Quest dating line and then went to see her at her apartment near 174 Avenue and 95 Street about noon.

The woman was with her sister and when Drake said he wanted to have a drink, the sister left the suite, said Crown prosecutor Christian Lim.

Drake went to the bathroom and when he came out, he attacked the woman with a tire iron, said Lim.

The woman ended up on the ground and Drake continued to hit her on the head, face and arms, said Lim, adding she was bleeding from the back of her head.

WOMAN TREATED

Drake fled as the woman screamed loudly and she called 911, said Lim. Police officers found her covered in blood and she was treated in hospital and released.

Drake was arrested several days later after police used a search warrant to raid an apartment near 131 Street and 153 Avenue.

During the sentencing, Lim noted a psychiatrist who completed an assessment of Drake had written there were concerns the soldier might suffer from a sexual addiction.

Defence lawyer Gwilym Davies told court Drake suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of seeing atrocities while serving in Bosnia.

Davies was also successful in getting the judge to not impose the mandatory 10-year firearms prohibition against Drake so it would not interfere with his military career.

Capt. Shauna Bruce, a military spokesman with 1 Service Battalion, said it is not known yet whether the criminal conviction will affect Drake's job as a soldier, but added the case will be reviewed.

Meanwhile, Drake is slated to go to trial on Nov. 9 on a charge of break and enter stemming from an incident on May 13, 2006.

EDIT: Sorry, I think I posted this in the wrong thread, I was looking for the one where the individual claimed PTSD from Bosnia.
Found it http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/45511.75.html

 

[GAP]

Shitcan him....the CF need to quickly and loudly wash their hands of this jerk, they need to supply refuting data on his PTSD story ASAP. This jerks' actions and misuse of the condition is going to tar and feather all those suffering from PTSD....

 

[geo]

well, if he has PTSD and had that kind of behavioral problem, this fella is due for an admin review, a medical review, a permanent subnormal med category and ship him on his way with a 3(b).  Refer him to DVA and wave him bye, bye as they haul em away

 

[the 48th regulator]

well, if he has PTSD and had that kind of behavioral problem, this fella is due for an admin review, a medical review, a permanent subnormal med category and ship him on his way with a 3(b).  Refer him to DVA and wave him bye, bye as they haul em away

Wow,

And that is a good message to send to the troops that are trying to solve their challenges with PTSD, and try to continue to serve.

One mope effs up, claims PTSD, so we should just 3B him and everyone else and dump them onto the DVA.

I shake my head, as this is the type of BS from the guilty character to the posts here, that threaten the health of those who suffer and fear of being released.

dileas

tess

 

[George Wallace]

Drake had been initially charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in relation to the Sept. 15 incident in north Edmonton.

Court heard Drake, a military equipment driver with 1 Service Battalion, had met the victim on Quest dating line and then went to see her at her apartment near 174 Avenue and 95 Street about noon.

The woman was with her sister and when Drake said he wanted to have a drink, the sister left the suite, said Crown prosecutor Christian Lim.

Drake went to the bathroom and when he came out, he attacked the woman with a tire iron, said Lim.

I find this rather odd.

At noon in the middle of September?  Tire iron?  Who keeps a Tire iron in their bathroom?  Surely, if he brought it in with him at noon on a warm September day, it would have been noticed, so it had to be in the bathroom.  This whole story is out to lunch.  (Sorry for the pun.) 

 

[GUNS]

PTSD will be a crutch for those who served overseas to defend their actions.

Most will be true cases but some will avail of this to lessen the punishment for unlawful deeds.

 

[Disenchantedsailor]

There are some suffering from PTSD here at home, and continue to serve, of course none of them tooled an internet date with a tire iron. He needs help agreed, but we've allready allowed him to keep his job throughout the trial period, while he waits for yet another trial for a b&e, if he were simply selling pot in the shacks we'd have allready punted him. I makes it more difficult because he claims to have PTSD from Bosnia, pulls the heart strings of course but doesn't give those rightfully diagnosed trying to recover and cope to retain any credibility. Especially if what GUNS said comes to fruition, we could be looking at lots of guys coming back and beating thier girlfriends and wives/hubbies and the like and using PTSD to lighten the sentence

 

[Blakey]

How should these persons be dealt with, the ones that are/have seemingly taken and used the "PTSD Card" as a means of escaping recourse punishment for their actions?...more importantly, how are we to know that these claims (PTSD) are actually false?

Changed recourse to punishment.

 

[Disenchantedsailor]

if it can be proven to be an unsubstantiated claim, and yes the experts are getting pretty good at sifting out the BS, then he can/should be charged with making a fraudulent statement do some time in club ed and then dismissal with disgrace unsuitable for further military service due to circumstances under his control. that is of course if it can be proven to be a fraudulent claim, if even a shred of doubt exists than its back to the head mechanics to find a solution to the mans problem.

 

[Armymedic]

Too many people think it as an excuse to defend thier inappropriate actions. In our current enviroment of information and acceptance, if they were not clinically diagnosed before causing a crime, then they are just using it as an excuse. And even if they are, all and any of us who have served overseas more then once can make up a good story. The hard part is for the clinitians to determine if it is actually PTSD or some other behavorial problem. Because it is so easy to make up a plausable story, then most practioners will hear hoofprints and think horse, and not look for donkeys or zebras.

Regardless of "alleged" PTSD or not, the fucking guy is a violent criminal.

Punt.

 

[geo]

Wow,

And that is a good message to send to the troops that are trying to solve their challenges with PTSD, and try to continue to serve.

One mope effs up, claims PTSD, so we should just 3B him and everyone else and dump them onto the DVA.

I shake my head, as this is the type of BS from the guilty character to the posts here, that threaten the health of those who suffer and fear of being released.

dileas

tess

Tess,

Don't get me wrong, if the fella is sick, he needs help.
That having been said, if the fella was not in control of his faculties, the court would not have tried him and no sentence would have been given.... if the sentence was handed out, he was in control of his faculties and should be held responsible.

If being around the military is what triggers off his mood swings, maybe he needs to be released for the therapy he is following to work.

Obviously I threw together a string of events that would, under normal circumstances, take plenty of time..... some might be required, some might not..... that is for his CoC to act upon.

BTW, I know several people who are suffering from PTSD - to varying degrees - not one of them has taken a tire iron to a wife, an acquaintance or a perfect stranger...... what's his excuse?

 

[pbi]

This at least the second case I've heard of in which a person has attempted to justify criminal actions by drumming up a story about being affected by "atrocities" they witnessed in FRY. The first case, several years ago involved an individual who I was personally familiar with: we served on the same tour and in the same organization. I wish I had been called to testify at the CM because I could have very easily refuted his stories about the incidents he "witnessed": they either didn't happen or were blown out of all proportion.

Now this other individual trots out the same kind of story (although this time it  doesn't seem to have convinced anybody.)

Despite the various risks that we all faced in Yugo, how many of us actually "witnessed" atrocities? Some, yes, but of the thousands of Canadians who cycled through the various missions, IMHO it would only have been a relatively small number, and the great majority of these would have been in the early UN missions, not the NATO mission. Those who did witness atrocities were, I'm guessing, probably mostly combat arms types right at the sharp end, not MSE Ops in the NSE or LogBat. Of those people that saw anything, I'm guessing that only a very few actually developed PTSD serious enough to cause them to commit criminal actions years later. And, in these cases, it should be relatively easy to establish the facts.

I am not attacking people who have suffered PTSD. They deserve all the care and respect we can give them, and we should focus on how we can reintegrate them, not dump them on VAC (DVA is US). I am attacking liars and frauds who make up stories to justify their own criminal behaviour, and prosecutors not diligent enough to actually investigate the defendant's claims. These fakes disgrace all of us, and they dishonour soldiers who are truly suffering. The CF needs to do all it can to see that the Crown gets all the info it needs to expose them if they try to hide behind military service as an alibi.

Cheers

 

[the 48th regulator]

This at least the second case I've heard of in which a person has attempted to justify criminal actions by drumming up a story about being affected by "atrocities" they witnessed in FRY. The first case, several years ago involved an individual who I was personally familiar with: we served on the same tour and in the same organization. I wish I had been called to testify at the CM because I could have very easily refuted his stories about the incidents he "witnessed": they either didn't happen or were blown out of all proportion.

Now this other individual trots out the same kind of story (although this time it  doesn't seem to have convinced anybody.)

Despite the various risks that we all faced in Yugo, how many of us actually "witnessed" atrocities? Some, yes, but of the thousands of Canadians who cycled through the various missions, IMHO it would only have been a relatively small number, and the great majority of these would have been in the early UN missions, not the NATO mission. Those who did witness atrocities were, I'm guessing, probably mostly combat arms types right at the sharp end, not MSE Ops in the NSE or LogBat. Of those people that saw anything, I'm guessing that only a very few actually developed PTSD serious enough to cause them to commit criminal actions years later. And, in these cases, it should be relatively easy to establish the facts.

I am not attacking people who have suffered PTSD. They deserve all the care and respect we can give them, and we should focus on how we can reintegrate them, not dump them on VAC (DVA is US). I am attacking liars and frauds who make up stories to justify their own criminal behaviour, and prosecutors not diligent enough to actually investigate the defendant's claims. These fakes disgrace all of us, and they dishonour soldiers who are truly suffering. The CF needs to do all it can to see that the Crown gets all the info it needs to expose them if they try to hide behind military service as an alibi.

Cheers

Phenomenal post, you have summed up my feelings and beliefs

cheers


dileas

tess

 

[ArmyRick]

Well written, pbi. I don't think we should allow PTSD to become a crutch.

 

[Red 6]

Having post-combat stress doesn't give anybody the right to inflict serious injury on another person. If you think about it, Soldiers are in the business of protecting the population. This guy doesn't deserve to wear the uniform. In my opinion he's not only disgraced his oath, but also made things tougher for others who fight their battles every day of their lives. No illness or affliction is an excuse for criminal activity and this sort of thing just validates the "crazy combat veteran" impression that some people in our society unfortunately hold to.

 

[safeboy43]

Having post-combat stress doesn't give anybody the right to inflict serious injury on another person. If you think about it, Soldiers are in the business of protecting the population. This guy doesn't deserve to wear the uniform. In my opinion he's not only disgraced his oath, but also made things tougher for others who fight their battles every day of their lives. No illness or affliction is an excuse for criminal activity and this sort of thing just validates the "crazy combat veteran" impression that some people in our society unfortunately hold to.

+1 R6. This incident will only reinforce the "crazy combat vet" stories and help turn the public more and more against the mission in A-stan.  If this guy was capable of controlling himself, he should be discharged from the CF and thrown in jail. 

 

[reccecrewman]

That was a good post Red 6.  It merely sets the stage for public opinion to turn against the mission in A-Stan as a breeding ground for turning our brave men and women into sociopaths who will return to cities and towns across Canada and start taking out the populace with tire irons.  PTSD or no PTSD, the man committed a CRIMINAL ACT by the criminal code of Canada and should be punished as it dictates. If it turns out the man does indeed suffer from PTSD, then perhaps time in a Penitentiary is not the remedy, but time in a good mental health facility where he can be properly treated is in order.  Under no circumstances does this man belong on the streets, he's proven himself to be a menace to society.  I'm NOT attacking all personnel who suffer PTSD and saying they should be locked up in jails or psych wards, but if they have proven themselves incapable of living in society, then society deserves protection from said individual.

My .02

 

[redsled1]

He should be put in jail held in custody until trial date. whether he has ptsd or not.If he' s married his wife should be thinking about her situation in a serious way.  Assault causing bbodily harm(to a female).For our military the clown is a waste of oxygen. He has PTSD ------ SO WHAT MANY SOLDIERS HAVE they don't take tire irons after their dates

 

[FascistLibertarian]

Yeah its bs but look at it from his prespective.
He has 2 options
1) admit he is a loon
2) claim he has ptsd and its not his fault

#2 is clearly better for him.

This reminds me of the defense used by skitzos that they committed a crime because they are skitzo. The fact is when medicated skitzos are no more violent than the rest of society, but some skitzos (or people with ptsd) will commit crimes.

 

[L + W Infanteer]

in reference to the previous post... just because a schizophrenic is medicated does not mean (s)he will stay that way. There are many reasons why they stop taking medication, numerous and very adverse side affects being one of them.

But in reference to the topic.... ptsd or not, this guy is extremely violent and a high risk to the CF and society either way. If he's using ptsd as an excuse or crutch it will only serve to put even more of negative stigma on the disease and insult those who are actually suffering from it. If he actually has it, I would hope that he's tried to get help long ago; rather than letting it come to this.