Crown urges maximum sentence in spitting case

Woman who tampered with food in 2010 back before judge for assault

The prosecution is seeking the maximum punishment for notorious food saboteur Tatyana Granada for spitting in the face of a government worker.

Crown lawyer Rosalind Greenwood said Friday she would have sought an even greater punishment than the maximum punishment of six months had the prosecution of Granada not proceeded by summary conviction.

Under the Criminal Code, the maximum sentence for assault where the Crown proceeds summarily instead of by indictment is six months in jail.

“Ms. Granada is fortunate because if the Crown had not proceeded summarily the Crown would be seeking more than six months,” Greenwood told provincial court Judge Bruce Fraser.

On Friday, Fraser found Granada guilty of assault in connection with a May 16, 2017, charge of assault for spitting on a government employee who was escorting her out of an office.

The judge rejected Granada’s claims she never spat in the woman’s face.

“I did not spit (on) her,” Granada said repeatedly, as Fraser asked her

to make submissions on sentencing.

“You’re just repeating what you said in the trial, it’s not helping me at all,” the judge said.

Fraser asked Greenwood if there had been any prior psychological assessments done on the Calgary woman in advance of previous sentencing hearings from shoplifting at Co-op stores and tampering with food products.

“Obviously there may be some mental health issues,” he said, as Granada continued to claim her innocence.

The judge ordered both a pre-sentence report be prepared by probation officials and a forensic assessment outpatient service report on the offender’s psychological state, including a risk assessment.

Fraser asked that the case return to court Nov. 14 to determine if any previous reports have been prepared and how soon new assessments can be completed.

Granada was sentenced to three years in a federal prison in April 2012 by Judge Gerry Meagher, on charges of mischief and trespassing. On four occasions between Jan. 13 and March 10, 2010, Granada tampered with food in an act of vengeance over a shoplifting arrest at the Oakridge Co-op store.

During sentencing, the judge noted how Granada’s behaviour not only put the public at risk, but caused collateral damage.

“Not only did the store suffer financial loss as customers stayed away, but beyond those financial losses, there were losses emotionally and psychologically,” Meagher said.

Granada remains free on bail pending sentencing.

Ms.Granadais fortunate ... if the Crown had not proceeded summarily the Crown would be seeking more than six months.