White Dodge Truck caught on surveillance outside the SCS Aug. 24

By Lara Fominoff

SENTENCE HANDED DOWN

SCS paintball shooter receives 6-month sentence

Sep 21, 2019 | 10:25 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A 29-year-old man charged with three counts of assault with a weapon, one count of possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, and one count of mischief – damage under $5,000 has been sentenced to six months in jail.

Jesse James Bulman pleaded guilty late Thursday afternoon (Sept. 19) to three counts of assault with a weapon, while the other two charges against him were withdrawn.

According to Alberta Justice, Bulman received credit for 41 days, leaving 139 days – or about 4.5 months – left to serve.

Once he is released, he will be on probation for another 12 months, will have to perform 50 hours of community service and abide by several conditions.

Some of those conditions include refraining from going within a five-block radius of the Supervised Consumption Site, and reporting to a probation officer within two days of being released.

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He must not possess any weapons including paintball guns, must attend counselling as directed potentially for anger management and other psychological purposes, and live at an approved residence.

A no-contact order will also remain in place involving two males and one female, who were the victims in the attack.

According to information from the Crown Prosecutor’s office, the paintball gun seized did not meet the criteria of a firearm given the maximum velocity of under 300 feet per second, compared with the CC threshold of 495 feet per second.

CASE HISTORY

Bulman was accused of firing multiple paintballs from a moving white Dodge pickup truck at staff and users of the Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) early in the morning of Saturday, August 24.

Lethbridge Police say two men (SCS clients) were able to avoid the paintballs, but a female staff member was hit numerous times in the leg, arm, torso, and face.

Following the initial assault, the truck reportedly returned to the scene and more paintballs were fired at clients walking along 1 Avenue South. This caused them to hit the ground and seek cover behind vehicles.

After receiving information from the public, the truck in question was located at a home in the Blackwolf area of north Lethbridge by Lethbridge Police.

According to the Crown Prosecutor’s Office, the female driver of the Dodge admitted to police she and Bulman had spoken about the event, and had driven around the SCS to make sure there were no staff members outside to ensure staff were not hurt. The statement indicates she was fully aware of her jeopardy and was extremely apologetic for her poor choices. The 21-year-old female was not charged for her involvement in the event.