Court Report: October 15th to 19th

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Below are the latest sentences handed down from the Fort St. John Provincial Court from October 15th to 19th.

Fort St. John Provincial Court sentencing, October 15th:

Bruce Lee Blanchette (born 1970):

Blanchette was found guilty of being unlawfully in a dwelling-house, two counts of assault, willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer, two counts of breach of recognizance, being in a dwelling-house without a lawful excuse, and breaching a release order, for incidents in Fort St. John that took place between January and June of 2024.

Blanchette was sentenced to nine days in jail, plus jail time already served. Additionally, Blanchette was issued eight 18-month probation orders, two five-year firearm prohibitions, and $800 in victim surcharges, which go towards supporting victims of a crime. Blanchette was also ordered to report for DNA sample collection.

Fort St. John Provincial Court sentencing, October 16th:

Jesse-Dylan Wiszka (born 1991):

Wiszka was found guilty of possessing a firearm without license and/or registration and causing fear of injury and/or damage to property, for an incident in Fort St. John on April 28th, 2022.

Wiszka was issued a $100 recognizance after the allegation for the first charge. If Wiszka fails to follow the conditions laid out by the court, they’ll need to pay a $100 fine.

For the second charge, Wiszka received a suspended sentence, where the accused is given conditions to follow. Wiszka also received a 12-month probation order and was issued a $1,000 fine, including a $200 victim surcharge.

Fort St. John Provincial Court sentencing, October 18th:

Dallas Raymond Patrick Garbitt (born 1994):

Garbitt was found guilty of occupying a vehicle knowing a firearm was present, causing a disturbance, breaking and entering to commit an indictable offense, mischief $5,000 or under, and willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer, for incidents in Fort St. John between June 2023 and June 2024.

Garbitt was sentenced to 19 days of jail time in addition to time already served. Garbitt also received five 18-month probation orders, a 10-year firearm prohibition, and was ordered to pay $1,000 in victim surcharges and report for DNA sample collection.

Kenneth Lorne James Hopkins (born 1986):

Hopkins was found guilty of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, breaching a release order, and theft $5,000 or under, for incidents in Fort St. John between April and May of 2024. 

Hopkins was sentenced to jail time served, received three 12-month probation orders, a $100 victim surcharge, a 10-year firearm prohibition, and was ordered to report for DNA sample collection.

Darcy William Hunter (born 1969):

Hunter was found guilty of breaching a release order for an incident in Fort St. John on April 9th, 2024. Hunter was issued a 12-month probation order.