Barry-
The sentencing for a 21-year-old Wasaga Beach man who was the subject of a Canada-wide warrant in 2021 has now begun.
With his hair in a bun, wearing a white mask, and wrinkled shirt Brayden Bullock entered the Barrie courtroom on Tuesday in handcuffs.
Now 21, Bullock was arrested and charged by police in March of last year with break and enter with intent, assault, and uttering a threat to cause death, along with failure to comply with a probation order and attempted murder.
In November, Bullock pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault. Police say at the time, Bullock, while at a Wasaga Beach home, stabbed his 33-year-old neighbor. That man was taken to hospital in Collingwood with wounds to his chest, arm and hip. I have survived.
A week after the attack, a warrant was issued for Bullock’s arrest; Bullock was eventually tracked down by police in Saskatoon.
His lawyer Jason Rabinovitch said Bullock was heavily intoxicated that night and had a terrible upbringing, growing up without a father, subjected to abuse and exposed to drugs and alcohol.
His lawyer asked the court for Bullock to be sentenced to two and a half years in prison, adding the suggested sentence is by no means a slap on the wrist.
Meanwhile, the crown, citing Bullock’s extensive criminal record and history of violence, is calling for a sentence of five years behind bars.
An emotional Bullock addressed the court by reading a lengthy letter describing his struggles as a child, addiction to drugs at the age of 14 and suicidal thoughts. He also told the court that he is now drug-free and wants to change his behavior and show his younger siblings the kind of man he can become.
“He is looking for support and the ability to move forward so that he is never here again, and this has been a difficult trip for him; the realization that he has made a lot of mistakes,” says Bullock’s lawyer Jason Rabinovitch.
Justice Fuerst will deliver her sentencing decision on May 10.