A B.C. man in court on threats and mischief charges swore at a judge multiple times and then trashed the jail video room from which he was appearing in Vancouver Provincial Court on Dec. 17.
The 35-year-old appeared before Judge Reginald Harris on two charges of uttering a threat to people and also a mischief charge involving the Vancouver Public Library on Aug. 15.
As the court discussion turned to the man having a lawyer, he erupted.
“I don’t need a lawyer. I need a detective,” he said.
Then, he shouted, “Go f*** yourself,” and stormed out of the video room.
He returned, uttered several more phrases some might find highly offensive and the connection vanished.
Crown prosecutor Ryan Elias, who was calling the day's cases, apologized to Harris for the incident.
“You don’t need to apologize,” Harris said calmly. “I’m used to people being mean to me.”
The case came up once more after other people's matters had been dealt with.
Crown prosecutor Georges Prat, who is handling the case, told Harris the man had “destroyed” the video room.
Defence lawyer Sandra Mandanici has attempted to help the man and suggested there may be some issues around fitness to stand trial.
“He was definitely out of control,” Harris said.
The man’s next court date is Dec. 18, according to court documents.
Those papers also show several warrants have been issued for him in the past, and that he has refused to attend court and has already been subject to an overnight doctor’s assessment in November.
