THUNDER BAY - A man with a lengthy criminal record has been sentenced to four months in jail after kicking down the front door of a residence where his wife and three kids were residing in.
Roger Shebagabow, 39, pleaded guilty by audio on Wednesday, April 29, to one count of forcible entry and for breaching two previous court orders to have no contact with his wife and not attend her home address in Longlac.
Shebagabow’s sentencing hearing took place by audioconference in Thunder Bay provincial court on Wednesday.
Crown counsel Heather Bracken told the court by phone Shebagabow came to police attention after his wife placed a call to 911 back in February to Ontario Provincial Police. The woman advised police she had barricaded herself along with her three children in a bedroom after her husband had kicked in the front door of her residence in Longlac.
Police attended the residence and found Shebagabow asleep on a couch which is when he was arrested.
Defence lawyer Kate Brindley said although her client knew he had been ordered not to attend to the residence, his intention on the day of the offence was to check on the wellbeing of his children, not scare them.
“He was of the belief something supernatural was happening,” she said. “His motive was not to scare his children.”
Court heard Shebagabow has been diagnosed with schizophrenia which he takes medication for. Brindley also spoke of some of the traumas her client has experienced throughout his life and including several Gladue factors.
Shebagabow’s criminal history was also read into the record. Justice Franceso Valente described it as “breathtaking and incredibly long”. He noted more than 30 convictions including previous offences of forcible entry, court breaches, and break and enter.
Brindley explained in recent years her client’s mental health was progressively becoming worse but he has been taking medication to deal with those issues.
Crown and defence counsel submitted a joint sentence recommendation for Shebagabow of four months of custody to be followed by an 18-month probation period.
Justice Valente accepted the sentence recommendation with “significant reluctance” citing the offender’s “horrifically long” criminal record was an aggravating factor alone.
Shebagabow, who is a member of the Long Lac First Nation, was credited nearly 100 days of pre-sentence custody and has 21 days going forward left to serve of his sentence.
A portion of his probation will also include treatment for his mental health and counselling for intimate partner violence.
He was also handed a five-year weapons prohibition.
When asked to speak, Shebagabow thanked the court and mentioned he is still fighting with his inner demons and the medication he is taking is helping him.
