Jailed for threat
Woman sentenced to five months behind bars for anti-ball phone call during 2015 provincial election campaign
A woman convicted earlier this year of phoning in a bomb threat while Dwight Ball campaigned in Placentia prior to becoming premier of Newfoundland and Labrador will spend time in jail for her actions.
A woman convicted earlier this year of phoning in a bomb threat while Dwight Ball campaigned in Placentia prior to becoming premier of Newfoundland and Labrador will spend time in jail for her actions.
Dorothy Joan Carnell, 53, received a five-month sentence Wednesday at the Placentia courthouse. She had pleaded not guilty following her arrest in the fall of 2015. Earlier this year, Judge Bruce Short convicted her on all charges — uttering threats to cause death to Ball, conveying false information by reporting to police there was a bomb, causing public mischief and uttering threats to damage or destroy property.
She was also charged with failing to comply with an appearance notice.
On Nov. 14, 2015, Ball was scheduled to drop by the Placentia Mall, where local Liberal candidate Sherry Gambin-walsh’s campaign headquarters were located.
But the mall was evacuated after police received word of a call indicating there was a bomb at the building. On the phone, Carnell told an RCMP dispatcher, “I just don’t like Dwight Ball.”
Security camera footage captured Carnell using the phone at the same time the call came in. An RCMP officer who arrested the woman later that day also observed her around the mall while responding to the incident.
Announcing his decision on sentencing, Short highlighted the fact there were a lot of people in the area that day.
“The potential for harm for any number of individuals that day was significant,” the judge said.
He noted the false bomb threat tied up emergency resources and forced businesses to close for several hours, affecting their bottom lines.
As an event linked to a political rally, Short also said such a crime goes to the heart of free speech, the right to public assembly and the freedom to associate with a political party.
At a sentencing hearing earlier this year, the Crown brought up the case of then-prime minister Jean Chrétien receiving a pie in the face during a public appearance on Prince Edward Island in 2000.
The guilty party in that case received jail time.
Carnell’s lawyer was looking for a conditional sentence, but Short considered her actions to be more serious than what happened in P.E.I.
In addition to the jail sentence, Carnell must provide DNA to a databank. Short ordered a fiveyear weapons prohibition and three years of probation upon her release. Standalone restitution orders were also made for the provincial Liberal party ($250) and Sobeys ($21,450) to cover losses incurred due to Carnell’s actions.
Carnell has a new matter before the court for an alleged theft at Green’s Drug Mart in Placentia. Through her lawyer, Carnell pleaded not guilty to a single-count charge of theft under $5,000. A trial for that matter is set for Feb. 22, 2018.