By Taylor MacPherson

Vigilante assault lands woman behind bars

Sep 25, 2017 | 2:00 PM

A Prince Albert woman was handed a year in jail this morning for her role in two robberies, as well as a violent incident of vigilantism which saw a young man brutally beaten and stabbed.

Destiny Rabbitskin, 21, pleaded guilty to charges of assault causing bodily harm, robbery, possession of stolen property and acting as an accessory after the fact in connection with three incidents dating back to 2015.

In the first incident, Crown Prosecutor Linh Le said Rabbitskin was a getaway driver as a male associate robbed a local liquor store in the late hours of Sept. 14, 2015. The robber brandished a pellet pistol, Le said, and made off with a 40-oz bottle of spiced rum.

Later, in the early morning hours of Sept. 15, Le said Rabbitskin was involved in luring a 21-year-old man to be assaulted and robbed in a brutal incident of vigilante justice. Le said the young man received Facebook messages from Rabbitskin and another woman asking to hang out, and he drove Rabbitskin and several other associates out to Little Red River Park.

When they arrived at the park shortly after 1 a.m., Le said one man held a knife to the victim’s throat and the group handcuffed his wrists and ankles before brutally beating and stabbing him. Rabbitskin kicked the man at least once, Le said, and the group stole his wallet, cell phone and car, abandoning the wounded man in the park.

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Le said the group targeted the man because he allegedly committed a sexual crime against the sister of one of his attackers. The victim, Le said, managed to walk to a farmhouse for assistance and was taken to hospital suffering more than 10 puncture wounds to his legs and chest. His stolen car was later found abandoned and “trashed,” Le said.

The crime-spree did not end there, Le said, as Rabbitskin was involved in another liquor store robbery less than an hour later. Rabbitskin acted as the getaway driver once again as an associate stole a bottle of rye whiskey from a local drive-thru liquor store, once again brandishing a pellet pistol.

Rabbitskin’s spree came to an end shortly after the second liquor store incident, Le said, when city police pulled their vehicle over on Sixth Ave. E. and located the pistol and a knife inside.

Le called for a 16-month sentence, noting the severity of the offences and level of violence, despite acknowledging the fact Rabbitskin was not involved in planning the crimes.

“Together they terrorized the city over three incidents back-to-back,” Le said. “She even tried to light the vehicle on fire before abandoning it.”

Defence lawyer Adam Masiowski said Rabbitskin was “carried along for the ride” during the crime spree, and noted her high level of intoxication left her with very little recollection of the events. Masiowski pushed for a much shorter sentence, asking for time already served and a lengthy conditional sentence to allow Rabbitskin to serve her time in the community.

Justice R.W. Danyliuk sentenced Rabbitskin to 12 months in custody, noting that several co-accused with a greater level of involvement in the incidents had already received sentences between 18 and 21 months. Danyliuk also left Rabbitskin with a lecture on the dangers of private citizens attempting to enforce the law.

“People are not allowed to take the law into their own hands, no matter how heinous the crime,” Danyliuk said. “We do not run a justice system based on vigilantism.”

Danyliuk emphasized the justice system is based on a presumption of innocence, and said Rabbitskin’s victim will be considered innocent by the courts until the Crown proves otherwise.

With credit for the time she has already spent in custody, Rabbitskin was left with 284 days to serve.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews