Man avoids more jail time for attempted break and enter in Nanaimo

Michael was also given 18 months’ probation, with conditions including no contact with the victims of the Dec. 1 break and enter, attending and completing programs related to substance use or mental health, can’t possess any weapons or break-in tools, and has a lifetime ban on restricted weapons.

A mandatory DNA order was also required for the police database.

Incidents

On Dec 1, 2023, at 3:18 a.m., a man woke up to the sound of Michael breaking a glass kitchen window in an attempt to enter his south Nanaimo home, armed with an aluminum baseball bat.

Court heard how Michael was confronted by the homeowner, where a struggle ensued, causing both men to fall down stairs.

The homeowner was able to get the bat away from Michael and hit him in the legs, detaining him in the carport until police arrived.

The homeowner’s wife and three other people were there at the time.

Michael was noted as being “belligerent and uncooperative” during his arrest, with Nanaimo RCMP having to use a TASER to subdue him.

Michael was also wearing a pair of the homeowner’s shoes when arrested, with both the shoes and the bat suspected to have been stolen from the carport.

He was charged and held in custody until January 17th, 2024, following a court date.

Two months later, Michael stole two Bluetooth speakers from London Drugs at Port Place Centre.

He was spotted and recognized by two bike patrol RCMP officers later in the day outside the Nicol St. McDonald’s, with the handle of a large machete sticking out of his bag in plain view.

Police searched him and found a crack pipe, noting Michael appeared to be high, but cooperative.

He was arrested for breaching his court-ordered curfew and his ban on possession of any weapon.

The speakers, valued at around $100 each, were not recovered.

He was released again in June and told his bail supervisors he was staying at a house in Cumberland, but wasn’t there when police investigated the day after he was let out, with the Cumberland homeowner having no knowledge of Michael.

Michael then failed to show up to a July 30, 2024 court appearance, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He managed to evade authorities for nearly a year before being arrested on May 5, 2025, in Merritt, where he currently faces assault charges related to an incident in Douglas Lake.

Background

During sentencing arguments, Crown prosecutor Neil Bennett outlined Michael’s criminal record, with 15 convictions in his young life, twelve of which occurred as an adult.

“Mr. Michael’s adult court history commences in 2020, and has an extensive and persistent criminal history beginning in youth and continuing into adulthood, characterized by repeated, violent offences, including numerous assaults, assaults with weapons, and assaults on peace officers.”

He has served numerous jail sentences ranging between 30 and 50 days and was in custody until about six months ago, released to an Indigenous treatment centre in Kamloops, where he has resided ever since.

A forensic assessment completed in February deemed Michael a “moderate to moderate-high risk” of committing general offences, and a moderate risk of violence while sober and in treatment.

Those risks increased significantly when he’s impaired by drugs or alcohol, and has shown a “notable shift in attitude” during his time in recovery, according to the report.

“Given Mr. Michaels’ recent change in environment, he’s demonstrated his risk is considerably lower when he’s sober, engaged with treatment, and living in a safer environment, and increases significantly when he’s using substances or experiencing high stress, and it reduces his ability to manage emotion,” said Bennett.

He described Michael’s early life as “volatile and chaotic.”

Born in Campbell River, Michael’s mother passed away when he was only a year old, and he lived with his dad and paternal family, where he was exposed to substance abuse and neglect.

He was removed from the home at the age of six and put into foster care, according to court records.

Defence attorney Kathleen Kerr-Donohue said Michael was continuously placed in non-Indigenous foster homes.

“He feels strongly the experiences and traumas growing up in that system have had the most significant impact on his subsequent behaviour, as well as his criminal record. In speaking with him, he recalled to me that the foster care system was a ‘horrific experience’, those are his words, and at times said he was subject to every kind of trauma and abuse that one can imagine.”

He began experimenting with alcohol and cannabis when he was nine, moving to cocaine and methamphetamine when he was an early teen.

He dropped out of school at the age of 14 after the birth of his first child with his 17-year-old girlfriend and began working, calling it the first time he experienced relative stability, according to Kerr-Donohue.

The relationship ended when he was 16, which led to Michael turning again to alcohol and drugs to cope.

He had another child at 18, and began spiralling again a year later when the relationship ended.

“It ended in a very negative way and he struggled significantly to cope,” Kerr-Donohue said. “This led to the cycle of poor mental health, poor coping skills, depression, which subsequently led to a relapse and he once again found himself struggling with addiction and homelessness.”

In 2023, he had his third child at the age of 21, but again fell into a depressive state and continued abusing drugs and alcohol following the death of his father by suicide, which occurred shortly before the Dec. 1 break and enter incident.

Kerr-Donohue said he’s been diagnosed with a depressive disorder and PTSD, cannabis, alcohol, opioid, and stimulant use disorders in various stages of remission, and has self-reported having anxiety and insomnia.

“He has absolutely no doubt his addiction is tied to his trauma. Substance-use, in his own words, was ‘another form of running away’.”

She said this is the first time Michael has been able to attend a serious and committed treatment program and is doing well, dealing with an “overwhelming amount of trauma.”

Attending via video conference, Michael addressed the court before being sentenced,

“My time in treatment has been a really big help. This is my first time in treatment, and I’ve been out of custody for six months now, and in treatment for six months, and I am able to see how much it’s changed my life in a healthy way. My plan is to stay on this path…I do have some family lawyers in place to get some visitation rights for my kids. Without this treatment program, I wouldn’t be able to be where I am today.”

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by Jordan Davidson

Man avoids more jail time for attempted break and enter in Nanaimo

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