A local woman has pleaded guilty to assault for striking a store clerk with a snow brush last month.
The assault was one of 11 crimes Shannon Boyer admitted committing when she appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom last Thursday.
Four of the offences, including the assault, a theft and two counts of mischief, occurred on May 13.
Police were called to the Esso Gas Bar on Wellington Street West about a female assailant who had hit a clerk with a snow brush, Ontario Court Justice Melanie Dunn heard.
The woman then grabbed another brush and ran out of the store, prosecutor Trent Wilson said.
On that same day, officers responded to reports of a woman who had smashed windows in two vehicles in a Gore Street parking lot.
She was spotted throwing rocks by one of the vehicle owners, who described hearing "a noise that sounded like a gun," the assistant Crown attorney said.
The witness saw the woman smashing the rear window, as well as the one on the driver's side of the vehicle, where a rock was found on the driver's seat.
The back window of a second vehicle also was broken, Wilson said.
A passerby caught this on video and provided it to police.
In addition to these charges, Boyer, 40, pleaded guilty to two other counts of mischief — for damaging another vehicle window during a Feb. 13, 2021 domestic incident and breaking a window at Pauline's Place on June 6, 2022.
She also was convicted of two counts of missing court dates, single counts of breach of an undertaking, failing to attend for fingerprints and failing to comply with a release document.
The Crown and defence lawyer Jessica Belisle jointly recommended that her client be sentenced to time served — the equivalent of 36 days — followed by probation.
Calling the sentence "a reasonable disposition," Wilson noted Boyer has "a limited criminal record" for assault and mischief.
The time the mother of five has spent in custody is her "first jail sentence and she doesn't want to go back," Belisle told the judge.
Boyer struggles with addiction issues and has a background with significant trauma, the defence said.
When she imposed sentence, Dunn said the lawyers' joint position is within the range for the offences.
She cited Boyer's criminal record and "the violent nature of a couple of the charges" as aggravating factors.
Dunn placed her on probation for 18 months, with conditions that include taking any recommended counselling for domestic violence, mental health issues and substance abuse.
Boyer must stay away from the Esso station and 185 Gore Street.
As well, she is to have no contact with the man involved in the domestic dispute.
Dunn also prohibited her from possessing weapons for five years and ordered her to provide a DNA sample for the national database.