Not anymore.
She used to be able to go for a walk. Answer her door. Say hello to a passing neighbour.
Now these simple tasks are nearly impossible.
She used to sleep well at night.
Now sleep comes sparingly, and the nights are often filled with nightmares.
She used to trust people and just live her life.
But then came June 25, 2011, and nothing has been the same since.
“I feel nervous and tense, suspicious and fearful,” the woman told provincial court in Yarmouth on Oct. 8, while reading an impact statement relating to the night she was the victim of a home invasion.
“My doors are always locked no matter what time of day now, and I refuse to open the door for someone I do not recognize,” she said. “If I was to leave my house I’d feel panicked until I’m in my vehicle with the doors locked. Because I no longer feel safe by myself, I have someone in my home with me at all times.”
She missed four weeks of work following the home invasion and suffered financially from missing work, replacing stolen items and installing new locks in her home in effort to feel safer.
The woman’s identity is protected by a court publication ban. But her feeling of security wasn’t protected – in fact it was stolen – on that night inside a Hebron, Yarmouth County home over three years ago.
In court on Oct. 8, 32-year-old Michael Keith Pictou was sentenced to an additional 22 months in jail after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful confinement and one count of stealing medicinal marijuana plants while armed with a weapon. He and another co-accused, James Edmund Spurrell, were accused of committing the home invasion and robbery. Spurrell’s next court appearance is set for Jan. 7 for the purpose of setting down a trial date.
Pictou has been in custody on remand since his arrest on June 27, 2011. Over this time time there have been numerous adjournments of proceedings. He had elected a Supreme Court judge and jury trial but recently re-elected to provincial court and pleaded guilty. Although he’s been in custody for three years and three months, in handing down an additional 22 months in jail, the court credited him for four years and 10 months in custody, since time spent on remand is treated differently than if a person is serving a custodial sentence.
On the night of the 2011 offence, the woman (referred to earlier in this story) was house sitting for a friend. Pictou was one of two people said to have forced their way into the house. He was wearing a mask and sprayed the woman with an aerosol substance. The woman, who suffered light injures and bruising that night, was locked in a room. At the time the homeowner had a medical marijuana licence and marijuana valued at around $10,000 was stolen. None of it was recovered. The house sitter’s car keys and cell phone were also taken. The home’s phone lines were disabled. At the time of the incident this newspaper was told the woman was eventually able to get to a computer and send a Facebook message to a friend to alert the police.
Hers wasn’t the only impact statement read in court on Oct. 8. The court heard from the homeowner, who has also been profoundly impacted this event.
“I am anxious in my own home. I often sit tensely with all my doors and windows closed and locked, even on a hot summer night,” she said. “During the day I don’t sit outside and enjoy my backyard anymore like I used to. This all leaves me angry, betrayed and powerless.”
She said she doesn’t feel safe in public, but she doesn’t feel safe at home either. It has also had an impact on her health.
“My dogs, my faithful companions and I, spend a lot of time in the house together. They were abused during the attack and this saddens me,” she added. “They are very nervous and now bark at every noise outside, which in turn makes me scared. We are all easily spooked.”
Aside from also having to spend money to replace stolen or damaged items and change her locks, the homeowner suffers from guilt and heartache over her friend’s suffering.
Pictou did address the court, directing most of his comments to the woman who was forcibly confined inside the home that night.
“You did not deserve what had happened to you. I am very shameful for my actions,” said Pictou, whom, the court was told, has turned to religion during his time in custody. Pictou said he prays every night for the woman, hoping one day she will find comfort. He said he is making efforts to be a better person.
“If you could find it in your heart to forgive me, it would mean the world to me,” he said, asking for her forgiveness more than once.
Pictou’s lawyer told the court that on the night in question Pictou was under the influence of drugs “and was not thinking clearly.” The lawyer said this wasn’t an excuse for what had happened, but he noted Pictou was an addict at this stage of his life.
The defence said Pictou is very remorseful and has been working to better himself while in custody. “He is not a lost cause,” the court was told.
The 22-month custodial sentence, in addition to his time already spent in custody, was a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence. Pictou must serve 12 months of probation following his release from jail. He is also banned from owning or possessing firearms for life.
In handing down his sentence Judge Robert Prince said it was evident that Pictou is remorseful for his actions. But this was outweighed by the anxiety both women directly affected by this crime now must live with.
Judge Prince said it was understandable if these women never feel safe again as a result of this experience. Unfortunately, he said, there is no sentence he could give that would change this.
