18 months in jail for N.B. man who took 'justice into his own hands'
CBC
A man who elicited sympathy from dozens of community members, including a New Brunswick village mayor, for his act of vigilante justice, has been sentenced to serve 18 months in jail.
Billy McGillicuddy was sentenced in Fredericton provincial court on Monday in connection to his June 4 charges of unlawfully confining Blake Scott and assaulting him with a baseball bat and chair in McAdam, about 75 kilometres southwest of Fredericton.
The sentence has handed down by Leslie Jackson, a provincial court judge, who agreed to a joint sentencing recommendation by T.J. Burke, McGillicuddy's lawyer, and Crown prosecutor Darlene Blunston.
"Obviously this is a case where the accused was sort of taking justice into his own hands and dealing with matters in his own way, and that obviously has to be deterred and denounced," Blunston said.
"Given these circumstances and the accused's participation, the Crown believes a fair sentence for the total of all offences would be 18 months."
The charges include two summary offences of possession of a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence and of assaulting Blake Scott with a baseball bat.
The other two charges were indictable offences of assaulting Scott with a chair and unlawfully confining him.
Two firearms charges McGillicuddy was earlier facing were withdrawn.
In recognition of the time he's already spent on remand, 245 days will be subtracted from the 18-month sentence.
Once released, McGillicuddy will be on probation and barred from contacting or approaching Scott for a year.
McGillicuddy will also be prohibited from owning any firearms for 10 years upon his release.
McGillicuddy lives in St. Croix, but his arrest and criminal charges drew supporters from nearby McAdam to his court appearances, including Mayor Ken Stannix, who on June 6 said he "wanted to support the individuals who allegedly took the law into their own hands."
Stannix said people in his village were getting frustrated with a rise in property crime, adding that "the criminals are getting away with everything."
McGillicuddy appeared in court Monday via video call, and four people, including his common-law partner and mother, were in the gallery for his sentencing.
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