HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-04-26, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018.
Four Winds squatter found guilty of trespassing
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Douglas Gollan of no fixed
address was found guilty of
obstructing a peace officer and
entering a premises when entry was
prohibited, all stemming from living
at the Four Winds Barn in Brussels
for several months.
Gollan was in Wingham court on
April 19 to answer to the charges. He
took them to a trial where he refused
to enter a plea, which the court is
then obligated to take as a plea of not
guilty.
As the trial began, Gollan
informed the court that he is
homeless and has no money. As a
result, he said, he had been unable to
prepare for the trial and felt the
process was "unfair" to him.
He said he had asked for relief
from judges in Wingham court
before and eventually tried to work
his way up to the Justice Minister of
Canada, but to no avail.
Judge K. Sherwood noted that
several services, such as legal aid
and duty counsel, were available to
Gollan. He insisted, however, that he
was unable to access legal aid,
despite telling Sherwood that he had
not applied.
Gollan told the judge that the court
was determined to proceed "no
matter what", which put him in an
unfair position.
He was charged with obstructing a
peace officer, entering a premises
when he was prohibited to do so and
engaging in prohibited behaviour,
which the clerk specified as sleeping
and urinating on the property.
Crown Attorney Elizabeth Wilson
then called her first witness, who
was Bryan Morton, owner of the
Brussels Four Winds Barn.
Morton testified that Gollan came
to him over a year ago, when the
building was in the early stages of
construction, asking for a job.
Morton said he didn't have a job for
Gollan. However, when Gollan told
Morton that he had been kicked out
of his living arrangements and
needed a place to stay, Morton said
he tried to do the right thing and told
Gollan he could stay in the basement
of the barn while it was under
construction.
Gollan then stayed in the barn for
two months, at which time Morton
asked him to "clean up his language"
as well as his hygiene. There were
no bathrooms installed in the barn
yet, Morton said, and when his
workers would arrive in the morning
Morton said "the smell of urine was
very strong" at the site.
Morton said he had asked Gollan
not to urinate on the property,
suggesting instead several area
restaurants or the nearby Brussels
Library.
After having that conversation,
Morton said it was clear that Gollan
had "nothing but contempt" for him
and stopped talking to him, but just
glared instead. Morton then asked
Gollan to leave, but didn't receive a
response. He would stay for between
two and three more weeks before
Morton called the police and asked
them to remove Gollan from the
property.
Morton said that by letting Gollan
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Worth the wait
The Brussels Lions Club fundraiser breakfast that was postponed due to a late -season ice
storm two weekends ago was held on Sunday at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community
Centre. Members served hundreds in an effort to raise funds for the Brussels and Grey fire
departments. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
McLellan hopes to direct funds
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Councillor Alvin McLellan wants
Huron East Council to commit to
supporting the renovation
and expansion of the Brussels,
Morris and Grey Community
Centre.
McLellan brought forward a
notice of motion at council's April
17 meeting asking that council
declare its intention to support the
arena project, although details and
specific amounts have yet to be
determined.
With a municipal election this fall,
McLellan said it was very possible
that "12 new faces" could be around
the table and he felt it was important
that they know that the Brussels
community centre project was
important to the council of the day.
McLellan, who also serves on the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Recreation Committee, said he felt it
was important that council declare
this intent.
The motion will be presented and
discussed at council's next meeting,
which is scheduled for Tuesday,
May 1 at Huron East Council
Chambers in Seaforth.
HE approves fire hall upgrades
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron East Council has approved
$85,000 in improvements to the
Grey fire hall in Ethel, although
the department may aim to
do even more work at the site, if
possible.
Huron East Fire Chief Marty
Bedard spoke to the issue at
council's April 16 meeting. He said
that plans have resulted in making
the proposed addition to the hall 10
feet wider. This extra room would
result in more overall space, Bedard
said, as well as separate storage and
mechanical rooms, rather than
combining the two.
The budget for the project was
increased in the 2018 budget to
$85,000. However, Bedard
acknowledged that it might be "a
little tight" given the scope of the
work the firefighters hope to do. He
said they hope to install larger bay
doors on the front of the hall. That
change, as well as some other small
changes, could result in the addition
of another $12,000 to the renovation
budget.
Bedard told council that the
firefighters are of the mind that if
renovations are being authorized, it
made sense to do the work correctly
and all at the same time.
He told council that the
firefighters hope to have the work
done by this summer.
stay at the property he felt he was
giving him a chance to reassimilate
into society, but that it just didn't
work out that way.
"I didn't think I was asking a lot,
but it just didn't happen," Morton
said.
Constable Mark Boyd then
responded to Morton's call, making
his way to Brussels at 3:30 p.m. on
Aug. 15, 2017. Before doing so, he
had consulted the Landlord and
Tenant Board to ensure there were
no restrictions in evicting Gollan,
but was assured that since the
property wasn't a residence,
removing the man once the owner
said he wanted him removed was
legal.
Boyd said he first located Gollan
near the Brussels Dam and
recognized him due to the
description provided. Gollan
proceeded to walk past Boyd,
according to the officer, and said he
didn't want to talk to him. Boyd,
however, said that he made it clear to
Gollan that he was no longer
welcome at Morton's property.
He then communicated to
Constable Patrick Armstrong, who
would be working that night, that
Gollan was not to be at the property
and if he was, he was breaking the
law.
Armstrong said that just before
midnight that night he was patrolling
Brussels and observed light and
sound coming from the basement of
the barn, so he decided to investigate
further.
Once inside the barn, Armstrong
said he located a man sleeping
shirtless on a couch in the barn.
There were candles lit in the
building and a radio playing,
Armstrong said, which led him to
believe that the man was living there
and hadn't accidentally fallen asleep
there.
He woke the man, who refused to
identify himself, and then placed
him under arrest.
Armstrong said that Gollan then
pulled away on his first attempt to
arrest him and went over to a
backpack and reached in and
Armstrong told him to stop and step
away from the bag.
Upon his second attempt to arrest
Gollan, Armstrong said Gollan
"scratched at" his arm and continued
to resist before he was finally able to
arrest him.
Gollan, who represented himself
in the trial, refused to cross-examine
any witnesses, call any witnesses,
testify or answer any of the judge's
questions. When asked any question,
he referred the court back to his first
statement, which was that due to
financial reasons, he was unable to
prepare for the trial and felt the
process was treating him unfairly.
He insisted that the court was going
to go ahead regardless of what he
said, so there was no point in
actively participating.
Sherwood insisted that Gollan had
been afforded every opportunity to
cross-examine witnesses, testify and
call his own evidence and refused to
do so when called upon.
He found Gollan guilty of
obstructing a peace officer and
trespassing, but did not find
sufficient evidence that he was
urinating on the property when he
wasn't authorized to and when there
were no facilities to do so.
Sherwood handed down a 12 -
month term of probation to Gollan
for the criminal charge, as well as
another six-month term of probation
under the Provincial Offences Act
for the trespassing conviction. He
was also ordered not to attend the
Brussels Four Winds Barn or be
within 25 metres of Brian Morton or
his wife during the term of
probation.
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