Man's Depression Med Combined With Alcohol Led to Assault
Summary:
SECOND article, 5th and 6th paragraphs read: "L’Abbe has been diagnosed with depression and his medication reacts unfavourably with alcohol, court heard. L’Abbe manages the Avocado Restaurant in St. Albert.
The judge praised L’Abbe for his steady employment record, his regular attendance at alcoholism meetings and his continued financial support of his family.
SSRI Stories Note: The Physicians Desk Reference states that antidepressants can cause a craving for alcohol and can cause alcohol abuse. Also, the liver cannot metabolize the antidepressant and the alcohol simultaneously, thus leading to higher levels of both alcohol and the antidepressant in the human body.
An Enoch resident who tried to cash a fake cheque at a St. Albert bank received three years probation in court last week.
Roxette Bird, 19, was arrested last December after trying to cash a fake cheque worth $1,206 at St. Albert’s BMO Bank of Montreal branch. After arresting Bird, RCMP learned that she’d cashed another fake cheque for $1,745 earlier in the day.
Bird pled guilty to two counts of uttering a forged document. She also pled guilty to theft and assault stemming from an incident on the Enoch reserve last summer when Bird urged a friend to steal a resident’s bag.
“Take her stuff. Punch her. Smack her,” were the words that Bird used, said Crown prosecutor Jeff Morrison.
In the instance of the fake cheques, Bird was acting on the instructions of a friend, court heard.
Judge D.R. Pahl placed Bird on three years probation while recommending that she take an alcohol treatment program like that offered at Poundmaker’s Lodge and upgrade her education.
The lengthy three-year term was designed to allow the court to oversee her progress, he said.
“I’m not trying to make your life miserable. I’m trying to help you,” Pahl said.
The court heard that Bird’s family background includes alcohol and physical abuse. She has a history of emotional neglect and tends to become attached to exploitive individuals. These circumstances have led to a “brief but worrisome criminal record,” Morrison said.
Pahl said it was time for Bird to move on.
“You’re now an adult. You can’t be using your background as an excuse anymore,” he said. “This seems to me like a really good time to start the rest of your life. As long as you make up your mind, you can get this all fixed.”
Bird said she has trouble handling money but has good supports in place. She recently connected with her long-estranged mother and still has a good relationship with her foster family in Spruce Grove. She vowed to leave violence and crime behind.
“I don’t want to be like that no more. I want to do something with my life,” Bird said.
Restaurant manager cleaning up act
Trying to barge his way into a St. Albert home resulted in probation for a local restaurant manager who has been battling an alcohol addiction.
Braden L’Abbe, 28, pled guilty to one count of assault that resulted from a pushing and shoving incident at a St. Albert home on Dec. 14. Court heard that L’Abbe was intoxicated when he tried to forcibly enter the home. It turned out that L’Abbe was at the wrong house and left when he realized his mistake, court heard.
Judge D.R. Pahl described the incident as “a relatively minor assault” but suggested that Pahl deal with his alcoholism.
“You are on the cusp of some very serious problems,” Pahl said to L’Abbe. “You get your alcohol issues in order … your prognosis is good.”
L’Abbe has been diagnosed with depression and his medication reacts unfavourably with alcohol, court heard. L’Abbe manages the Avocado Restaurant in St. Albert.
The judge praised L’Abbe for his steady employment record, his regular attendance at alcoholism meetings and his continued financial support of his family.
“I strongly encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing,” Pahl said.
Local avoids drug conviction
A local man avoided a drug trafficking conviction and jail time last week in St. Albert court.
Jamie P. Martial, 22, was arrested April 8 after an ongoing investigation into cocaine trafficking by the St. Albert RCMP.
Martial was found in possession of drug paraphernalia and $1,750 in cash. Police found no drugs but charged Martial with trafficking and being in possession of the proceeds of crime.
Martial pled guilty to the possession charge, for which he received a $500 fine. The Crown dropped the trafficking charge.