NANAIMO — An offender with a strong employment history turned to crime to feed his addiction, culminating in a high-profile crime wave south of Nanaimo, resulting in a face-to-face encounter with a homeowner.
Tyrone Philip Reno Poulsen, 36, was sentenced in provincial court in Nanaimo on Friday, April 11 after he smashed a front window to get into a Yellow Point Rd. home on Cedar Rd. south of Nanaimo on the afternoon of Jan 25, 2023.
He was soon interrupted by the homeowner, who received an alert from his alarm company and returned home.
The startled victim took actions into his own hands to protect himself upon seeing Poulsen in his living room.
He confronted the offender with physical force.
Crown counsel’s Jordan Hauschildt told a sentencing hearing on Friday, the homeowner picked up a metal ornament statue and applied several blows to the offender’s head.
“Mr. Poulsen received injuries as a result of being struck by that sculpture, including a laceration on his head,” Hauschildt said, who noted abrasions to his head were also documented in post-offence photographs.
Bleeding profusely, Poulsen ran from the home where he was spotted running east on Yellow Point Rd., leading to several 911 calls from passersby.
Poulsen was unarmed during the Yellow Point Rd. Incident, Hauschildt said, but he’d left behind a stolen truck near the scene, which had run out of gas.
Despite the wounds, Poulsen attempted to break into another home, on Woodbank Rd. in Cedar a few hours later.
Nanaimo RCMP reported several concerned neighbours used garden tools to contain Poulsen until police arrived to arrest him.
The crimes resulted in Poulsen being jailed for two years and two months following a contested sentencing hearing, resulting in nearly five additional months at Nanaimo Correctional Centre due to pretrial credit.
Poulsen’s case was destined for trial in supreme court, however he changed course with guilty pleas on Friday to charges of break-and-enter to commit and indictable offence and a possession of stolen property.
The Crown’s Hauschildt told the hearing Poulsen stole a truck the day before from a Ladysmith resident and Good Samaritan.
The victim had entered a local store to interrupt a shoplifter, but left his truck running with the key in the ignition.
When the Good Samaritan returned to his vehicle shortly after, Poulsen was already gone.
Footwear impressions and Poulsen’s blood tied him to the Yellow Point Rd. crime scene, court was told.
He also had a key from the stolen truck in his pocket upon his arrest.
RCMP pulled Poulsen’s fingerprints from the driver-side’s interior door handle.
Hauschildt noted a ring, jeans and jacket stolen from the Yellow Point Rd. home were not recovered.
Poulsen had five prior break-and-enter convictions for incidents in the Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley areas starting in 2019, resulting in several jail sentences.
Hauschildt, referencing Poulsen’s Indigenous heritage, reminded court sanctions other than jail are considered since Indigenous offenders face systemic barriers and are over-represented in Canada’s jails.
“There is no reasonable sentence other than a sentence of incarceration that can imposed in the circumstances,” Hauschildt said, who lobbied for a three-year prison sentence.
While the break-and-enter victim did not submit a statement to the court, Hasuchildt said the man was deeply troubled by what occurred, emphasizing the breach of safety break-in victims receive.
Dozens of photographic exhibits were submitted to the court as part of an agreed statement of facts, including the metal bird-like statue the homeowner used to defend himself.
Defence attorney Kelly Bradshaw suggested a two-year jail term, which the judge added two months to upon his judgment.
She outlined a sad story of demise for Poulsen, who received a red seal ticket in Alberta as an iron worker and maintained steady employment in the oil and gas industry between 2011 and when the industry crumbled in 2017.
Bradshaw stated Poulsen, a father of two, ended up caring for his son on his own, who was born with severe health complications in 2014.
Poulsen moved to the southern Vancouver Island area in 2018 with his mother, where Bradshaw said her clients’ life took a turn for the worse.
As a result of in-home social disorder complaints, Poulsen’s son was removed and re-homed to new caregivers in Saskatchewan.
Bradshaw said Poulsen, a former John Barsby Secondary School Student, fell into deep addiction upon moving to Nanaimo associating with a negative peer group.
“Mr. Poulsen lost his son and he lost his job and in 2018 he basically lost his way,” Bradshaw said. “He reconnected with friends and acquaintances that he knew from high school and his friends were not living healthy lifestyles.”
Hard drugs like crystal meth and a severe heroin addiction took over Poulsen’s life, who ended up unhoused, living in his car and turning to property crime.
Bradshaw noted Poulsen has been clean for some time now and has taken advantage of programming while in custody.
While judge Chris Churchill pointedly told Poulsen as he sat in the prisoner’s box that his most recent break-in offence was extremely serious, the judge also pointed to the offender’s rehabilitative prospects.
Poulsen’s mother attended the hearing.
“He has an opportunity to return to being a productive citizen,” judge Churchill said. “Prior to 2019 he was employed, he was a tradesmen. He has children that I’m told wishes to engage with. He has support of his family.”
Poulsen was also handed one year probation upon his release, with numerous provisions, including counselling.
The offender made a brief statement to the court prior to being sentenced, where he apologized for his actions, said he’s reflected on what he’s done and is committed to again being a productive member of society.
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