Lambton woman welcomes jail stint for stabbing in order to get drug treatment

Gabrielle Shipman was given two options for plea deals by the Lambton Crown attorney’s office for stabbing her ex-boyfriend with a knife: serve six months in jail or a longer term of house arrest.

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In a rare move, the 35-year-old Walpole Island woman was jailed.

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Defense lawyer Terry Brandon told the judge her client has struggled with an addiction to fentanyl and the drug has changed her into someone she doesn’t even recognize.

“It’s really taken over her,” Brandon said recently as her client sat in the Sarnia courtroom’s prisoner’s box. “Brought her over here, frankly.”

Shipman has come to the realization she can’t beat this addiction herself and needs to be removed from society for treatment, which is why she opted for jail, Brandon said.

But it may not have mattered, as the final decision was up to Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski and the judge said she didn’t hear anything in court that day that would’ve put the test for house arrest.

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“A real jail sentence is appropriate and necessary,” she said while imposing the half-year sentence both lawyers recommended.

The court heard the attack took place Jan. 15, around midnight inside a River Road home at the First Nation between Sarnia and Chatham. Police found Shipman’s then-boyfriend, Henry Riley, with multiple cuts on his face and left forearm.

Riley told police they’d been drinking together when she became upset and came after him. He went inside his bedroom and closed the door, but Shipman kicked the door in and lunged at him with a knife. She tried to stab and slash at him before fleeing, the court heard.

Shipman recently pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a weapon and three counts of breaching release orders.

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“Obviously the assault with a weapon is aggravating,” assistant Crown attorney Lori MacIntosh said. “He had stable marks on him.”

“She appreciates the gravity of the situation, the realities of what could have come about,” Brandon said.

Shipman has a prior criminal record.

“You have accumulated a rather significant record of violence at this point,” Leszczynski told Shipman, noting she had four convictions for assaulting police and two for assault with a weapon.

But the judge added she’s pleased Shipman is reaching out for help while in jail.

“This court hears every day about what a struggle it is to free one’s self from use of fentanyl and we know that, frankly, the use of fentanyl becomes a life sentence in and of its own,” she said. “I encourage you to continue your efforts with respect to rehabilitation.”

Leszczynski said she’d make a recommendation Shipman serve her sentence at a jail with a drug-treatment facility, but the final decision is up to corrections officials.

“I wish you well in your recovery efforts,” she said.

Shipman got 35 days’ credit for pre-sentence custody leaving 145 days to serve. When she’s released she’ll be on probation for one year banning her from contacting Riley. She’s also banned from weapons for 10 years.

The knife was forfeited and other charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

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@ObserverTerry

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