PHILIPSBURG--A 63-year-old man who stood trial on Thursday in a case of vandalism and mistreatment was sentenced to 64 days, sixty of which were suspended, on two years’ probation. The Court also ordered mandatory out-patient treatment at Turning Point for the man’s alcohol addiction, and Parole Board guidance. The Judge also issued a restraining order for the maximum duration of one year, and payment of damages.
Peter David Bell’s spouse pressed charges against him concerning an incident of mistreatment on September 30, 2018. She informed the police she had left her husband in 2016 because he turns aggressive after the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
He sought contact again since April 2018 and in August 2018 he asked if he could live with her and his stepdaughter again. The woman’s daughter, who was three months old when they started their relationship agreed, but her mother declined.
The defendant reportedly was drunk on September 30, 2018, and accused his wife, claiming she had a boyfriend. After he left the house the two women locked the front door. He became enraged and threw a builder’s level through a window.
The frightened women called the police and left the house, but returned when they saw the police coming. The defendant then picked up a big rock 20 centimetres in diameter and weighing approximately one kilo and threw it at the women’s car.
The projectile shattered the window at the driver’s side of the vehicle and hit the older woman in the knee. A second rock destroyed one of the car’s headlights. The suspect then wanted to pick up a third stone, but the police prevented this.
Bell said he had been drinking and confessed to having destroyed a window of the house, but said he had thrown rocks at the vehicle because his stepdaughter had attempted to run him over.
He told the judge that he regretted the incident, that he was willing to pay damages and that he had not been in contact with his wife since the incident. However, he informed the Court that he had spoken with his stepdaughter and his grandchild over the phone to wish them a “Merry Christmas.”
His wife wants a divorce, but no proceedings have been initiated yet. The defendant said he would “appreciate” Parole Board guidance, because “I don’t want to get in the same problem again.
The Prosecutor found vandalism and the attempt to inflict severe bodily harm proven in what he described as a “severe” case of domestic violence. He said there was no evidence that the stepdaughter had attempted to run her father over.
The Prosecutor’s Office called for two weeks suspended, on two years’ probation and 120 hours of community service. Parole Board supervision, a restraining order and payment of damages were included in the demand.
Attorney-at-law Marlon Hart said his client should not have thrown a rock, but denied that the man had had the intention to inflict severe bodily harm.
The lawyer agreed with supervision, but said a restraining order in regard to his client’s daughter would be “going too far.” The judge agreed and only imposed a restraining order in connection with the defendant’s spouse.
