Brandon man in stalking case denied bail

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This article was published 13/05/2023 (1105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — A Brandon man who was arrested this week for impersonating a police officer to obtain information about his ex-girlfriend was denied bail after allegations of violence and jealous fixations on his former partner were revealed in court.

John Richard, 41, will remain behind bars after a judge determined his risk to public safety too great to release him. Richard is facing 12 charges including two counts of impersonating a peace officer and criminal harassment.

None of the allegations against Richard have been proven in court and he remains innocent until proven guilty.

Prosecutors read the evidence for the charges during Thursday’s proceedings.

Last September, a man began a new relationship with a woman who eventually moved into his Rosser Avenue apartment. According to the woman, her boyfriend was becoming increasingly jealous of her and would become confrontational when he alleged that she was cheating on him. The woman claimed he would often question her about her ex-boyfriends.

The jealous and angry behaviour continued to escalate into violence. The man had been drinking last Feb. 11 when he accused his girlfriend of cheating on him. He grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and threw it onto the ground. He also knocked the glasses off his girlfriend’s face and onto the floor.

The woman did not initially report the incident to police nor the events of April 19, when she was trying to leave the apartment. Her boyfriend stood in front of the door, blocking her from leaving. He also took her car key so she couldn’t leave. He then grabbed her from behind and pinned her to the ground. As she screamed for help, her boyfriend put his hands over her mouth and nose.

The woman managed to escape and ran to get her cell phone from a different room. As she tried to call 911, her boyfriend grabbed the phone away from her and smashed it on the floor. The woman fled the apartment and got to her car, but her boyfriend continued to follow and harass her on her way there. She was left with bruises on her arms from being pinned to the ground.

The woman returned to the man’s apartment a few days later to pick up some of her belongings. Later, he sent her text messages telling her he always knows where she is.

When the woman looked through her belongings, she found a cell phone with a charger taped to it, which was hidden in the lining of a bag her boyfriend had placed in her car when she went to pick up her belongings. She believes he placed the cell phone in her bag to track her.

The second time the woman retrieved more belongings from the man’s apartment, she found an Apple AirTag tracking device hidden in a bottle of Tylenol.

Prosecutors say the man showed up at an RBC location and the Clarion Hotel and Suites when the woman was at the businesses as he was able to locate her with the tracking devices he had placed with her belongings.

Knowing the woman had been at the hotel, the man went to the front desk on May 8 and identified himself as a police officer from Winnipeg and requested to see video surveillance. When hotel staff told the man the manager wasn’t available, he called the hotel 11 times within two hours, continuously identifying himself as a police officer who needed to see video surveillance for an ongoing drug investigation.

The next day, the man went to a gas station, identified himself as a constable from Winnipeg in the drug division and asked to view surveillance footage for an investigation where he was looking for an orange car. His former girlfriend, prosecutors noted, drives an orange car.

Both businesses found the man’s behaviour suspicious and did not provide him with any video footage.

Brandon Police Service officers used video surveillance footage from the businesses to identify the man and arrested him on May 9.

The man is also facing charges from last October, when he hopped onto the hood of a different woman’s car as she was trying to break up with him and he began smashing the windshield with his fist.

Sarah Kok, an articling student representing the Crown, told the court that after his arrest, the man admitted to impersonating a police officer to obtain video footage out of jealousy over his recent breakup. He indicated to police that he believes he will get back together with the woman someday.

“The fact that Mr. Richard is going these lengths and impersonating officers to try and get some kind of information about [his ex-girlfriend] is extremely concerning,” Kok said.

The Crown opposed Richard’s release, citing a concern for both public safety and the safety of his ex-girlfriend. He has also allegedly sent daily messages to his ex-girlfriend despite being under a court order to not contact her.

Defence lawyer Myles Davis told the court that Richard grew up in Sandy Bay First Nation and has previously worked as a carpenter. Davis presented a bail plan that would have Richard on house arrest at his apartment.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta took issue with the lack of supervision Richard’s proposed bail plan offered and though she emphasized the allegations against Richard are unproven, the charges are serious.

“The allegations that he’s facing now paint the picture of a jealous individual with a dangerous fixation on a partner who’s trying to leave him,” the judge said. “And he’s gone to the extremes, allegedly abusing tracking devices and posing as a police officer to try and gain access to her.”

Ultimately, the judge denied Richard bail. His matter will next appear in court on June 19.

gmortfield@brandonsun.com

Twitter: @geena_mortfield