Illegal couch surfer highlights mental health and addiction issues in region

The case of a St. Catharines woman who returned home to find a stranger sleeping on her couch sheds light on prevalence of mental health and addiction issues in the Niagara region, a judge said Thursday.

“Niagara seems to be particularly affected more than I’ve seen elsewhere,” Judge Joseph De Filippis said after imposing a 12-day jail term against Bruce Love on several criminal charges including mischief and assaulting a police officer.

“It continues to astound me, the level of addiction and mental health issues in this region.”

On Sept. 4, court was told, a woman returned to her Glenridge Avenue home to find the 30-year-old man sleeping on a couch in her sun room. She ran to a neighbours home and called 911.

When police arrived, the defendant “waved at the officers to leave,” said assistant Crown attorney Kevin Kim.

Court heard Love became combative when police attempted to escort him from the residence. He kicked at the legs of two officers and managed to punch a third officer in the torso several times.

The Crown had asked the judge to impose a sentence of four months in jail, citing the seriousness of the crimes.

The judge agreed.

“The Crown is right to remind the court how unsettling at best or shocking at worse it is for a homeowner to come to his or her home and find someone inside,” De Filippis said.

“Our home is our refuge, our place of safety. This person violated that sense of security that woman was entitled to have.”

Defence counsel John Bothwell told the judge his client’s actions that night were “not offences of malice.”

The defendant is homeless, he explained, and suffers from mental health issues and is also being treated for opioid addiction. He ended up inside the home that night after he missed his curfew at a local shelter and had nowhere else to sleep.

“Ironically, or tragically, Mr. Love when admitted to custody was at the top of a subsidized housing list,” the lawyer said. “His time in custody may have cost him his place on that list.”