Starblanket sentenced to six months for baseball bat beatings

Jun 21, 2017 | 3:00 PM

A Prince Albert man who bludgeoned two women – including the mother of his child – with a baseball bat will be spending the next six months in jail.

Crown Prosecutor Cynthia Alexander said 26-year-old Angus Christopher Starblanket arrived at the 27th St. E. home of his former common-law partner Lois McKenzie to pick up their young daughter in August of 2015. When McKenzie spotted Starblanket’s current girlfriend waiting in his car the two women began fighting. Michelle Leggo, a friend of McKenzie, attempted to intervene, Alexander said, but Starblanket retrieved a baseball bat from the backseat of his car and struck both McKenzie and Leggo several times before driving away along with his girlfriend.

Both McKenzie and Leggo were hospitalized after the incident, Alexander said, as both women received blows to the head. McKenzie suffered a concussion and laceration, while Leggo’s wrist was fractured and her head required stitches.

Alexander said Starblanket was justified in defending his then-girlfriend, but when he grabbed the bat the incident changed from defence to assault.

“This attack on the two women was a response to a consensual fight,” Alexander said. “His behaviour crosses the line to criminal by using excessive force.”

Defence lawyer Mary McAuley said Starblanket is “full of remorse” for the incident, which she described as uncharacteristic. Starblanket had no criminal record, she noted, and turned himself in to police following the assault.

This morning Starblanket pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing bodily harm. Based on an agreement between the Crown and defence, he was sentenced to six months in custody, which will be followed by 18 months’ probation. He was also prohibited from owning firearms for 10 years.

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews