Man almost loses foot to infection
Jesse Douglas Paquet said he worried about going to jail after car accident
A Charlottetown man who skipped a court date after getting an infection in his leg that was so bad there were concerns he would lose his foot was sentenced recently to 30 days in jail on three charges.
Jesse Douglas Paquet, 27, appeared before Chief Judge Jeff Lantz in provincial court in Charlottetown by video from jail where he has been in custody since his arrest on June 30.
Paquet pleaded guilty to failing to attend court and two counts of breaching his probation.
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Crown attorney Jeff MacDonald told the court Paquet committed the first breach in February at the Community Outreach Centre.
The court heard Paquet was on probation that included a condition he have no contact with a woman he was seen arguing with outside the centre.
MacDonald said outreach centre staff called the police.
Paquet also breached his probation by not maintaining proper contact with his probation officer.
The court heard that over a period of several months, Paquet misses scheduled appointments, he made multiple unannounced visits to probation services and he repeatedly ignored COVID-19 protocols.
MacDonald said that in one instance, Paquet notified probation services that he was in hospital after a car hit him.
The last time probation services had contact with Paquet was on May 7 when he was given a warning.
Paquet then missed a court appearance on June 24 and the police arrested him six days later.
Defence lawyer Alex Dalton told the court Paquet has several underlying issues, including mental health and addictions.
Dalton said Paquet has been in and out of hospital with a serious leg injury and then a severe infection after the accident.
Paquet also addressed the court and talked about his recovery from the accident, saying he was in a wheelchair for about three months and on crutches about a month after that.
He told the court that after he got the infection, he worried he wouldn’t be able to walk.
Paquet had a prior criminal record and said he hadn’t been committing crimes like thefts or assaults recently.
“I’ve been trying to be good and I was petrified of going to jail,” he said.
He also asked the court for leniency.
“The car accident was bad. Really, really bad,” Paquet said.
Before sentencing Paquet, Lantz said he knew what the accused was going through and that there was a worry at one point that he might lose his foot.
Lantz said he tried to get word to Paquet that he should go to court, hoping that would lead to proper treatment.
Paquet is still on probation from his previous offences, and Lantz warned him that he better comply with it.