Man broke into apartment, refused to leave

Blair Vincent Janvier has a history of domestic violence and struggled to stay away from his former domestic partner, despite being ordered not to have any contact with her.

He was breaching one of those orders when he stormed into her Avenue P South apartment suite, unwanted, on March 16, 2021, holing himself up in a bedroom with a shotgun and refusing to leave.

He was arrested after jumping from a third-floor balcony during police negotiations, a Saskatoon provincial courtroom heard during his sentencing. Police said an imitation firearm was found in the suite.

Janvier, 50, pleaded guilty to being unlawfully in a dwelling house, carrying a weapon for a dangerous purpose and breaching his release order.

At the time, he was charged with assaulting another woman for punching her in the head after she left a 22nd Street grocery store and refused to come back to his apartment. He pleaded guilty to that assault from 2020.

He was also facing charges for failing to register on the national sex offender registry as required in 2016. Janvier pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to attend court while he was on release pending his trial, leading to his arrest on Sept. 24 when he was found walking on 22nd Street with the woman whose apartment he had broken into.

Court heard the case was scheduled to go to trial, but the woman repeatedly failed to attend court. Crown prosecutor Andrew Clements said she did not provide a victim-impact statement, either.

“It seems like that's been a pretty difficult and tumultuous relationship for the two of you over what looks like an extended period of time,” Judge Marilyn Penner said before sentencing Janvier to 13 months of time served and six months on probation.

Janvier said he doesn't know where the complainant lives and doesn't want to contact her.

“I'd like to work on myself,” he told Penner, who accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence.

Defence lawyer Meagan Ward said Janvier struggles with alcohol use disorder, which is evident throughout most of his prior criminal history.

She said he attended day school and described it as a negative experience that involved abuse.

She noted that her client was doing well while living with his brother in his home community of La Loche. Janvier said he wants to move back there, but worries he won't be able to access therapy.

Janvier's custodial sentence accounts for the time he has already spent on remand. Penner encouraged him to abide by his probation conditions, which prohibit him from contacting his ex-spouse for the next six months.