Phiona Acoby doesn’t have any prior convictions; judge says denunciation and deterrence require prison time
Dauphin Provincial Court (Wikimedia)
DAUPHIN, Man., – A 33-year-old Indigenous woman with no criminal record has been sentenced on June 12 to three years in prison for possessing a loaded, cocked revolver while confronting her former domestic partner at a residential home in Dauphin, Manitoba.
Phiona Margaret Acoby pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded prohibited firearm. The court heard that on Feb. 12, 2024, she hired her cousin to drive her to collect personal items from her former partner, Lorenzo Ducharme, at a house on a residential street in Dauphin.
Before leaving, Acoby secreted a loaded Herbert Schmidt Model 21 .22-calibre revolver into the vehicle. The firearm was a restricted weapon, and Acoby wasn’t licensed to possess any type of firearm.
According to an agreed statement of facts, the group — which included Acoby, her cousin Chyanne Benn, and two other individuals — consumed alcohol and crack cocaine for several hours during the drive to Dauphin. Acoby kept the firearm concealed from the other passengers.
Upon arriving at Ducharme’s residence around 3 p.m., Acoby exited the vehicle and began yelling aggressively at her former partner. Her behaviour was so concerning that a neighbour called 911. The group departed before police arrived, but RCMP quickly located the vehicle and arrested its occupants.
During a search, officers found the revolver in a hidden compartment at Acoby’s feet. The firearm was loaded, and the hammer had been cocked back. When questioned by police, Acoby denied possession of the firearm and accused the other occupants of lying. As she was being escorted to a cell, she yelled, “we have some snitches up in here.”
Associate Chief Judge G. Bayly said that Acoby didn’t brandish the weapon during the confrontation.
“I accept the defence’s submission,” wrote the judge. “An agreed statement of facts binds an accused only to what it expressly contains; it cannot be expanded by the Crown through implication to establish an aggravating fact.”
The court heard that Acoby’s motivation was driven by her desire to retrieve her personal property from her former partner, who had a history of violence towards her. Her choice to arm herself was informed by that history, and her decision to hide the firearm and not display it during the confrontation was consistent with bringing it for her own safety rather than to threaten or intimidate.
“Her decision to actively hide the firearm from the other passengers in the vehicle and her choice not to display it during the confrontation, are consistent with my conclusion that she brought it for her own safety rather than to threaten, intimidate, or escalate the situation,” the judge wrote.
Phiona Acoby’s background, reflected a life marked by systemic and intergenerational trauma.
Gladue Report
A Gladue Presentence Report provided important insight into Acoby’s background, reflecting a life marked by systemic and intergenerational trauma. She was raised in conditions of neglect, exposure to substance abuse, violence, and chronic instability. Her mother struggled with addiction, provided inconsistent parenting, and was repeatedly incarcerated. Acoby was often left in the care of older siblings who exposed her to violence.
The report made clear that these early experiences were rooted in her family’s history with the Residential School system. Her maternal grandmother attended the Portage Indian Residential School and raised Acoby’s mother in a strict, emotionally distant manner — a pattern that repeated in Acoby’s upbringing.
“The intergenerational nature of this trauma is unmistakable,” said the judge.
Acoby was expelled from school in the 10th grade but later completed her GED and earned diplomas in accounting, cosmetology, and graphic design. She has three children, all currently in the care of Child and Family Services following a relapse into substance use after learning that her young son had been abused by his father.
Her addiction intensified dramatically after that relapse, and she reported spending approximately $80,000 on crack cocaine in the three months leading up to the offence. Despite her struggles, family members described her as a loving and committed mother, and she remains determined to regain custody of her children.
The court was advised that Acoby learned only days before sentencing that she had become pregnant.
“The principle of restraint requires the Court to consider the collateral impact of incarceration on an expectant mother and her unborn child,” said the judge. “Her status as a pregnant, first-time offender supports a sentence at the lower end of the appropriate range.”
The judge encouraged Correctional Service Canada to use available mechanisms to ensure that her medical, postpartum, and parental needs are met “in a manner that avoids unnecessary separation of mother and child.”
In delivering the three-year sentence, the judge acknowledged that Acoby’s moral blameworthiness is reduced by the systemic and intergenerational factors identified in the Gladue report.
“These systemic factors mitigate her moral culpability to some extent and help situate her actions within a lifetime of structural disadvantage,” said the judge.
However, the judge emphasized that a penitentiary sentence was required to reflect the seriousness of the offence and the high degree of moral blameworthiness involved.
“Canadian neighbourhoods are not places where firearms are expected to be present, and handguns have no legitimate role in the resolution of personal disputes,” the judge wrote. “Members of the public are entitled to expect that their neighbours are not carrying loaded weapons in residential settings.”
The judge cited the Supreme Court’s decision in R. v. Nur, noting that loaded firearms pose an inherent and acute danger and that sentences of three years or more are often warranted.
The court imposed ancillary orders including a 10-year weapons prohibition, a DNA order, and forfeiture of the firearm and ammunition.
