Sentence suspended
Man with mental health issues apologizes for assault
A man who has mental illness won’t be spending any more time in jail after he assaulted a doctor and punched holes in a wall at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Mitchell Charles Abbott, 29, appeared before provincial court Judge John Douglas in Charlottetown Thursday where he entered guilty pleas to several charges against him. Abbott has been in custody since his arrest earlier this month leading Douglas to give him a suspended sentence for assault and fining him for the other charges.
Before hearing his sentence, Abbott addressed the court to say he wanted to apologize to the doctors involved and the QEH.
“They deserve an apology, and I’d like to give it,” he said.
The court heard Abbott went to a Petro Canada on University Avenue in Charlottetown on Dec. 22, went behind the counter and demanded a pack of cigarettes.
He pushed the clerk, grabbed a pack and left. The police arrested him soon after.
Abbott went to the QEH the next day and became agitated while he was there. He damaged a wall in the waiting room by throwing a chair at it.
On Jan. 8, Abbott went back to the QEH, and a doctor was treating him in the emergency department when he became agitated again and kicked a hole in a wall. Abbott pushed and shoved the doctor and punched two more holes in the wall.
The police arrested him the next day, and he was kept in hospital overnight after suffering from some type of mental disorder. It wasn’t the first time Abbott was hospitalized and the court heard he was admitted to hospital involuntarily in November. His most recent admission to hospital included a report of paranoia.
Abbott’s lawyer told the court her client had a supportive family, several of whom were in the courtroom during Thursday’s proceedings. They, along with Abbott, want him to go to Homewood Health Centre in Guelph, which specializes in mental health and addiction treatment.
In giving a suspended sentence, Douglas said he considered Abbott’s medical issues. He fined Abbott $3 and ordered him to pay $101 in victim surcharges.