A Vancouver man who tagged himself “the sheriff of Kitsilano” has been jailed for six months on convictions for assaults, uttering death threats and causing a disturbance.
Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Nancy Adams sentenced Paul Henry Desroches, 51, Friday after deciding his lack of willingness to listen to authorities did not make him a candidate for a conditional sentence order (CSO) to be served in the community.
She ruled out community work service to give back to the community because “he doesn’t seem to think he needs to give anything back.”
Adams dismissed a CSO as, “he would just be living his life as he does now.”
And that, she said, would not address the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence.
Desroches had pleaded guilty in two instances while Adams found him guilty on others.
Bus driver
Adams said that on April 16, 2024, Desroches assaulted a bus driver in Vancouver after the driver had witnessed him making racists slurs toward an elderly South Asian couple.
Desroches spat in the driver’s face, Adams said. The incident was caught on the bus security video.
Police said Desroches was highly intoxicated when arrested later that day.
He pleaded guilty to assault in that case. Adams said Desroches claimed he did not remember the incident.
Restaurant beating
Desroches was also charged with assault causing bodily harm, and uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm to a man in Vancouver Dec. 13, 2022.
Adams said the victim was speaking with an elderly woman in a restaurant when Desroches began verbally accosting the woman. The man asked him to stop.
Desroches reacted by pinning the man to a seat and then delivered “10-20 full-force blows to the head,” according to the judge.
At that point, Desroches interrupted.
“There’s no video footage, which is very convenient,” he said.
Adams later said Desroches had reported he had only hit the victims four times “as hard as he could.”
The victim suffered a concussion. Adams said he was a handyman who did work for several condominium buildings in the area for which he was given housing.
As a result of his injuries, the man could no longer work.
“As a consequence, he lost his employment . . . and he lost his housing,” Adams said.
The man now has trouble walking and balance problems.
Adams said Desroches and the victim were somewhat known to each other.
And, she said, Desroches had admitted to being a “jerk.”
Adams said the Crown prosecutor had called the attack a “significant assault on a stranger for no point whatsoever.”
The judge called it “gratuitous violence” which left a significant impact on the victim’s life.
“He believes he’s allowed to express his anger if provoked,” she said.
Screaming in Kitsilano
In connection with a Jan. 23, 2024, incident in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood, Desroches was charged with causing a disturbance and uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm to a man.
Police had responded to a call of a man yelling and screaming on the 200-block of West Fifth Avenue.
Responding to the call, police found Desroches and arrested him, Adams said.
The court had heard that the yelling and screaming would go on “all hours of the day and night” and that the neighbours had had enough of it.
The homeless Desroches had been living in a stairwell in the neighbourhood.
Alcohol problems
Adams said, by all accounts Desroches had a significant drinking problem, something he had referred to as “psycho drinking” while being assessed.
Desroches had been in hospital repeatedly in 2023 at which point he had been having 67 drinks a day. He’s now down to 13 drinks a day.
Adams said Desroches has refused alcohol treatment as he doesn’t want to sit around and listen to other people’s stories.
She said Desroches won’t sober up until he’s ready.
“The community needs him to do that,” she said.
