A Victoria man was in the grip of cocaine psychosis when he spouted religious blessings, tried to strangle a stranger, climbed on an armoured truck, then shoved a bath sponge down his girlfriend’s throat while holding her face under a running tap, B.C. Supreme Court heard this week.
James Scott Richardson, 40, was arrested May 9, 2011, after police were called to deal with him for a third time that morning. Richardson was charged with the attempted murder of his girlfriend and assaulting a Victoria man. On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of aggravated assault and assault.
Justice Brian Mackenzie accepted the pleas and sentenced Richardson, who has been in custody for 23 months, to another 30 days in jail. He also sentenced Richardson to three years of probation with conditions to look after his mental health and to take any forensic assessments, treatment or counselling as directed by his probation officer.
“This was very bizarre and very serious, with the potential for fatal consequences,” Mackenzie said.
“These disturbing circumstances highlight the potential for disaster when significant amounts of narcotics are consumed.”
Prosecutor Claire Jennings told the court that just before 3 a.m. on May 9, 2011, Richardson started following Ronald Jones as he walked down Bay Street. Richardson came up behind Jones and tried to strangle him.
“He said he was Adam and he was from God,” Jennings said. “He told Jones he wanted to save his soul and could see the devil in him.”
Jones told him to leave him alone. A little farther along, Richardson grabbed Jones around the neck a second time. Again, Jones told Richardson to leave him alone, Jennings said.
Richardson kept following Jones and grabbed him around the neck with more force, making Jones afraid for his safety, Jennings said. Richardson wrestled Jones to the ground in the middle of Blanshard Street. A security guard saw the incident and called police.
The officers drove Jones home and sent Richardson on his way, Jennings said.
About an hour later, the same officers responded to a call about a man climbing on an armoured Brinks vehicle. When police arrived, Richardson was talking to the guards about their souls. He then knelt and blessed the police car.
Richardson asked the officers to take him to his girlfriend’s apartment on Gorge Road East. At the apartment, the officers told Richardson’s girlfriend about his bizarre behaviour. She told police he had been acting odd for the past three days and was going through a stressful custody battle. She said she would take him to see a doctor in the morning, Jennings said.
Just before 5 a.m., police were called back to her apartment. They saw Richardson standing in front of the apartment blessing the door. Inside, they found the girlfriend coughing. She had red marks on her arms and throat and blood on her top teeth, Jennings said.
The girlfriend told police that after they left, Richardson gave her a crushing hug and would not let go. He started screaming religious phrases at her and calling her a serpent, Jennings said. Richardson dragged her to the bathroom, pushed her into the tub and held her face under the tap, then started choking her.
“She thought he was trying to drown her,” Jennings said. “Then he took a body puff and shoved it down her throat.”
The girlfriend struggled and screamed. A neighbour heard her and pounded on the door. Richardson thought it was the police and left the apartment.
Later, he told police he had been blessing her with the water and she was saved.
Richardson was assessed at the forensic psychiatric hospital. Experts found he was not suffering from a mental disorder but was in a cocaine-induced psychosis.
Defence lawyer Jordan Watt told the court that Richardson had no criminal record and asked Mackenzie to consider his guilty pleas.
Richardson was a long-haul truck driver in Alberta until he was injured in a serious accident, Watt said. He moved to Victoria in 2003 and worked at Value Village until his arrest.
Richardson suffered significant trauma when his girlfriend and six-month old son died in an accident in 1989, Watt said. During a custody battle in 2011, he became dependent on alcohol and cocaine.
Mackenzie noted Richardson had done well in jail and had no disciplinary issues. He is being held in a unit that assists inmates with mental health issues.
