Man admits resisting arrest at business during pandemic

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More than three years after his legal ordeal began, David Robert West has finally put his court matters to rest after being sentenced for resisting arrest with a group of people who believed pandemic health rules encroached on their rights.

“I just want to put these matters behind me. I don’t think you will ever see me in court again,” West told Moncton provincial court Judge Brigitte Volpé on Thursday.

West, 57, formerly of Riverview, apologized to police officers before court and also to prosecutor Logan Landry, who has been handling the file for years, and expressed remorse to the judge. He told Volpé he had been disrespectful to police officers and court officers over the last three years and he regrets it.

“I was being led or misled by a certain group to take those actions,” he said, referring to the events that got him charged. “I felt my personal rights were being violated and that’s why I took the actions I did.”

West said he was angry at the time and that was what was behind his behaviour. But he didn’t mean to disrespect people or cause trouble.

“My heart was in the right place,” he said. “I’m not angry any more.”

West was one of several people charged after arrests were made at the Main Street Atlantic Superstore on Dec. 31, 2020. He stood trial on a charge of failing to mask in public under the Emergency Measures Act and that case finally ended on March 12, 2024, when he failed to appear in court for the continuation of his trial.

Judge Ronald LeBlanc refused West’s request to appear by phone because he now resides in Ontario, and when the accused wasn’t in court on March 12 the judge found him guilty and fined him $1,000. The trial had dragged on for quite some time, with the Crown having closed its case in 2022.

West had split his criminal charges from that incident from the Emergency Measures Act charge and was set to stand trial over two days starting Thursday on charges of resisting and obstructing police, mischief and causing a disturbance. West and Landry worked out a resolution before court on Thursday and he pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, with the rest of the charges withdrawn.

Landry told the court West and other people entered the store without masks, which were mandatory at the time. Staff asked them to wear masks or leave and they refused so police were called. Mounties gave them the same choice and when they refused both options they were arrested, with West briefly resisting while he was taken into custody.

The offender told the judge on Thursday that he’s since had an accident and suffered memory loss so he doesn’t remember the incident.

“That’s why I just want to put this behind me, because I can’t mentally deal with this,” he said.

Landry asked for time-served as a sentence. West, who had no prior record at the time of his arrest, spent 57 days in custody, part of which was to undergo a psychiatric assessment.

“He may have been led in the context of proceedings by other individuals,” said the prosecutor.

The judge imposed 15 days, considered served, and commended West for the insight he now has into his own behaviour. While the Crown wanted probation she didn’t impose it, saying it isn’t necessary. She assured West that while he admits he was disrespectful in court in the past – including during appearances before Volpé – he exhibited “exemplary conduct in court today.”

Thursday’s sentencing was West’s third court case relating to charges stemming from late 2020 and early 2021. Along with the trial for not masking and the guilty plea to resisting, he had also been charged with some of the same people from the supermarket commotion for an incident that happened on Jan. 24, 2021.

Police arrested and ticketed several people that day during a protest in front of Moncton City Hall against certain pandemic-related health measures. West stood trial on a charge of failing to mask and maintain a distance of two metres from other people and on June 29, 2022, Judge Luc Labonté acquitted him, ruling the province’s emergency order did not cover a protest, saying “lawful and peaceful demonstration is a cornerstone of a democratic society.”

While West represented himself in court on Thursday, he conducted his two earlier trials with other people – including at least one who were arrested with him on both occasions – acting as his legal advisors.