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By Joe Fries
A gun stolen during a break-and-enter last August in Coldstream was used by a Kelowna woman to shoot an abusive ex-boyfriend, Kelowna provincial court heard this morning. Christine Connelly turned in herself and the sawed-off shotgun to police after the Oct. 7, 2008 shooting, which she claimed was an act of self-defence.
The victim, who showed up at Kelowna General Hospital with a leg wound early that day, was unco-operative with police so Connelly was not charged directly with the shooting. She was, however, charged with three related weapons offences, and was sentenced on one of them this morning. Court heard that in the early morning of hours of Oct. 7, Connelly was scared when a man with whom she had a previous violent relationship showed up at her house and took off with some of her belongings. He re-appeared at the door and began kicking at it. Fearing for her life, Connelly fired a single blast through the door, hitting the man in the upper left leg.
Staff at Kelowna General Hospital called police when he showed up there later, although he was unco-operative. Later that day, however, Connelly, who’s in her mid-20s, phoned police to disclose what happened. She told the investigating officer she found the gun in a box in an alley.
“She was involved in a pattern of severe abuse from this individual and she was afraid for her life,” explained defence counsel Blaine Weststrate.
He noted that Connelly was acting as a “responsible citizen” when she turned herself in, and “Crown wouldn’t have a case if she didn’t call police.”
Judge Brad Chapman sympathized with the woman’s plight that night and commended her for getting a gun off the street.
“I wasn’t there in your spot, so I can’t fully comprehend what you were going through,” he said, but noted she probably could have called for help or left the residence through a back door instead of pulling the trigger.
He sentenced her to three months in jail on one count of possession of a prohibited weapon, while two other gun charges were dropped.
She was also sentenced on three charges stemming from an incident this spring when she was caught behind the wheel of a stolen car. On May 15, 2009, just three days after she entered a guilty plea on that matter, police received a tip that Connelly was driving a stolen Volkswagen Jetta. Cops located the vehicle and found that it had stolen licence plates. The car was at a residence in Rutland and was put under police surveillance. The RCMP pulled Connelly over in the car on Gibson Road. A can of bear spray was found in her purse, leading to a charge of possession of a concealed weapon, while she was also charged with possession of the stolen car and driving while prohibited.
Court heard that although Connelly claimed that crystal meth was not involved during the two offences, she had a problem with the drug in the past. Her group of associates was also blamed for her criminal behaviour.
“If you get away from that peer group, you don’t need a shotgun, you don’t need the bear spray,” Chapman told Connelly.
He sentenced her to five months in jail for the stolen car, one month for the bear spray and three months for driving while prohibited, and banned her from driving for another three years. However, she’s been in custody for 3.5 months, and with double credit for time served, all told she has just 30 days left.
Connelly accepted as part of her two-year probation a condition that prohibits her from visiting Kelowna without permission of her probation officer, and said she would move in with a family member elsewhere in B.C. upon her release from jail.
What’s more, she told the court she welcomed the time she’s spent behind bars.
“I needed to re-evaluate my life,” Connelly said.
joe@kelowna.com/(250)575-4303
