NORTH BATTLEFORD – A judge who presided over a sentencing hearing for a man guilty of a violent unprovoked attack against an Indigenous man made a striking comparison between the progress of reconciliation efforts in North Battleford and the advances made by Lloydminster and Onion Lake.
The judge presided Friday in North Battleford Provincial Court over the case of 46-year-old Adam Lesmeister charged with assault causing bodily harm against an Indigenous man in Battleford last year.
“I go to Onion Lake every day and see positive things and I’m heartened,” said Lloydminster Provincial Court Judge Stephen Kritzer, shedding light on the state of reconciliation in the region. “And I come here and see cases like this and I know we are not all the way there.”
Judge Kritzer also condemned comments in two letters of support for Lesmeister that were submitted to the court, saying “I’m not extremely pleased by those remarks.”
In one letter of support, a woman said she “would do the same thing” as Lesmeister had and another letter said, “I may have done the same thing.”
Judge Kritzer said this raises the issue of a fitting sentence that would act as a general deterrence.
“We don’t want a repeat of this,” said Judge Kritzer. “This [assault] was horribly, horribly, horribly wrong and yet we have letters saying, ‘I would do that.’”
Indigenous man now fears coming to Battlefords
A Poundmaker First Nation man told North Battleford Provincial Court how he now fears coming into the Battlefords after the assault that had occurred in front of his six-year-old daughter.
Court heard that on July 17, 2022, Colby Tootoosis had just backed a trailer into the backyard of his friend, Eleanore Sunchild, in Battleford when he was unexpectedly confronted and “sucker punched” by Lesmeister.
“It was supposed to be an enjoyable father and daughter trip into town,” Tootosis said as he read his victim impact statement during Lesmeister’s sentencing hearing on a charge of assault causing bodily harm.
“My daughter was excited for this trip to town as we were very careful during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were in isolation in our family bubble.”
Tootoosis said his partner, Andrea Landry, was pregnant with their child and trips to the Battlefords were rare. They had home schooled their daughter during COVID-19. The attack destroyed Tootoosis and his young family’s sense of safety in coming to the Battlefords, he told the court.
“Instead of enjoying the trip it turned into disaster,” he said, adding that members of his family now avoid travelling alone to the Battlefords.
“The Battlefords feels like a dangerous place. I fear for my life in the Battlefords.”
Tootoosis told the court that he and his partner live a sober life. As part of their culture, he said they were focused on protecting her from any form of violence and surrounding her with peace and love during her high-risk pregnancy. Court heard that their daughter had even stopped playing violent video games to protect the unborn child from violence.
“All that was shattered that day my daughter and I experienced this,” said Tootoosis as he became visibly overwhelmed with emotion, stopped speaking, and reached for Kleenex to wipe his eyes.
Lesmeister, who sat beside his defence counsel Randy Kirkham, lowered his head.
Court heard that Tootoosis’s nose was broken in the assault. He also sustained injuries to his ears, head, nose, teeth, upper lip, and eyes.
Tootoosis told the court that he believed the fact that he was Indigenous contributed to the assault.
“I feel the opportunity presented itself to attack an Indigenous man and Adam took that opportunity. Discrimination against the Indigenous is a reality. I think Adam seen a thief through racial stereotypes and made choices based on those racial stereotypes.”
Daughter witnessed attack
Tootoosis asked Judge Kritzer if his six-year-old daughter could come into the courtroom as his partner Andrea Landry read her victim impact statement. Judge Kritzer granted the request.
“She began to sob when she saw me,” Landry told the court.
“She said, ‘I was so brave, Mom, I was so brave,’” Landry said adding that their daughter sobbed for 15 minutes. “She said to me, ‘I bet the police are chasing the bad guys right now to put them in jail.’”
Landry said her daughter saw all of the blood on her father’s shirt and was afraid for him.
“I was worried for my dad when I saw those men so I prayed,” Landry said her daughter told her. “If those guys were kind they would have stopped to see if I was OK.”
The assault
The assault was caught on video by a home security system at Eleanore Sunchild’s residence in Battleford. The video online sparked outrage across the province.
The video evidence showed Adam Lesmeister “roaming around the area” and taking off his hoodie looking for a confrontation, said Crown Prosecutor Stephen Larocque. A truck with a trailer driven by Colby Tootoosis could be seen backing into Eleanore Sunchild’s yard in Battleford. There were two men with Lesmeister in the backyard. Dane Lesmeister, 18, was also arrested and charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. The charge was dealt with through alternative measures and in January the charge against him was dismissed.
Some parts of the video evidence had sound and Lesmeister could be heard hollering at Tootoosis, “Where are my [expletive] bags? Someone stole bags from my truck and it leads here. Give me my [expletive] bag.”
Tootoosis was heard repeatedly saying, “I don’t live here.”
The video evidence then showed Lesmeister climb onto the bumper and trailer hitch of Tootoosis’ truck and “sucker punching” him.
Tootoois was taken to the ground – in front of his six-year-old daughter – and Lesmeister grabbed Tootoosis by the hair and delivered "another strike to his head,” said Larocque who called Lesmeister’s actions a “cowardly move.”
He told the court that Tootoosis was “clearly not a threat and was not fighting back and outnumbered.”
Tootoosis was driving a nice truck, wasn’t involved in the theft, and appeared confused when he was initially approached by Lesmeister, court heard.
After the attack, Lesmeister drove away and didn’t offer any help, apology, or assistance to the person he just wrongfully attacked, said Larocque.
There was no suggestion that anyone at Sunchild's home was involved in the theft of the bag that ended up in their backyard, court heard.
Sunchild moves family out of Battleford
Tootoosis’s friend Eleanore Sunchild – who is a lawyer – spoke directly to Lesmeister as she read her victim impact statement.
“Adam, I am extremely disappointed you came into my yard July 17 and brutally assaulted my friend Colby. We were at the lake that afternoon.
“You had to show your superiority and assault him and boss him around like it was your house.”
Sunchild said she moved her family out of the Battlefords after the assault on her friend. She said Lesmeister's actions were the last straw in the "racist and dangerous actions" she said she sees in the Battlefords. Sunchild acted as the lawyer for Colten Boushie’s family. Boushie was shot and killed by Biggar area farmer Gerald Stanley in 2018. Stanley was acquitted.
“Battleford is no longer a safe place to raise my Indigenous sons. I don’t want to wonder if they will be harmed given the state of racism in the Battlefords. I moved to Saskatoon. It is peaceful, safe, and quiet.”
Lesmeister sat looking forward and didn’t look at Sunchild as she read her victim impact statement.
Denounce vigilante justice: Crown
Crown Prosecutor Larocque said vigilante justice was an aggravating factor in the assault and increased the need for denunciation and deterrence.
“It was an assault motivated by retribution.”
The fact that Tootoosis and his family are Indigenous is another aggravating factor, said Larocque as he pointed out the trauma Indigenous people have experienced due to colonialism. The impact on an Indigenous victim and the assault’s impact on his young daughter in the truck increased the gravity of the offence.
He told the court that Tootoosis was “violently attacked” even though he had no connection to the theft Lesmeister was a victim of, other than being in the area after the stolen bag was found.
The Crown asked the court for a six-month suspended sentence followed by 12 months of probation and $16,000 in restitution for lost wages Tootoosis suffered.
Truly remorseful: Defence
Defence counsel Randy Kirkham told the court that his client was “truly remorseful” and had wanted to reach out to Tootoosis and his family early on to apologize but was prevented from doing so by a court order that prohibited any contact.
The nature of the unprovoked assault isn’t disputed, Kirkham told the court, adding that he wanted to explain the events that led up to the assault.
Lesmeister had returned home from the lake and was in the process of taking items into the house when he had observed someone on a bicycle and noticed that the passenger door of his truck was open, as well as the center console, court heard. A duffle bag had been stolen from his vehicle.
He called the police to report the theft and his wife started using the find my iPhone app to locate the cell phone that was in the stolen bag.
“While she was doing that he ended up heading off with directions from her to locate the phone while she remained on the phone with the RCMP updating them.”
The bag was eventually located in the Sunchild’s backyard and this was communicated to the police and Lesmeister waited there for them to arrive. The police, however, advised Lesmeister that they weren’t coming, Kirkham told the court. The cell phone and bag were recovered but Lesmeister’s pants with his house, trailer, toolbox and shop keys weren’t.
“When the police didn’t respond he became upset and frustrated and someone was then noted to be backing into the yard.”
Kirkham admitted that Lesmeister made “quick judgments and assumptions” and an unprovoked assault occurred.
“This was not a racially motivated incident,” insisted Kirkham. “It was out of frustration in terms of the police not showing up and being the victim of a theft.”
He added that Lesmeister had been the victim of three thefts prior to this incident.
“Race has nothing to do with it,” said Kirkham. He also told the court that it was not an act of vigilantism but rather an instant reaction to the situation.
Kirkham told the court that Lesmeister has many Indigenous friends and employees and his grandfather had married an Indigenous woman. In addition, several Indigenous people came to the sentencing hearing to “dispel the notion” that Lesmeister is racist.
Kirkham told the court that the Lesmeister family received death threats following the incident. In addition, their home was egged and vehicles vandalized.
Defence asked the court for a suspended sentence and nine to 12 months of probation.
Lesmeister’s apology
Through his lawyer, Lesmeister apologized to the court how his actions affected Tootoosis and his family.
“It was a chaotic and emotional event that resulted in a poor decision on my part and for that I sincerely apologize. Had I had the opportunity to apologize sooner I would have jumped at the chance.
“The actions of July 17 are not an accurate reflection of my character,” added Lesmeister.
“Do I regret my actions?” asked Lesmeister. “Absolutely. I live with it daily.”
Lesmeister said he had read the victim impact statements and it was “gut wrenching to know how I caused them such stress. I would like to relay my sincere apology. I hope they find some comfort in knowing how sorry I am.”
Kirkham told the court that Lesmeister now suffers from bouts of depression and sleeplessness.
Sentencing adjourned
Judge Kritzer reserved handing down a sentence until May 15 saying he had at least “100 pages of material to go through.”
Judge Kritzer acknowledged there is no evidence to substantiate that the attack was racially motivated. He added, however, that when the victim is from a population that does feel “put upon” it’s certainly reasonable that they would feel the assault was racially motivated and it is an aggravating factor.
“Mr. Tootoosis I do consider your feeling that this may be racially motivated and consider that real feeling. I can’t sentence this individual based on that,” said Judge Kritzer, adding that he will consider that fact.
Encouraged by Judge’s comments
Outside the courthouse, Eleanore Sunchild told reporters that she was encouraged by Judge Kritzer’s comments during the sentencing hearing.
“I was really pleased with what he said about general deterrence and vigilante justice. It’s clear that he seen what happened in my yard to Colby Tootoosis as an act of vigilante justice so that is good. I was very surprised to hear that from a judge sitting in North Battleford.
"You could tell that he was very thoughtful in his comments and what he was saying and I’m looking forward to a very thoughtful decision from him.”
Story corrected to say Colby Tootoosis is from Poundmaker First Nation.
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