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Woman who cut teens in Mac's melee to spend time in jail

The incident took place June 1
150428courthouseMP465
The Sault Ste. Marie Courthouse is pictured in this file photo
A young woman was jailed Monday for assaulting two teens with a knife during a "melee" outside a west-end convenience store earlier this summer.

Chelsea Fisher will serve a 90-day intermittent sentence on weekends so she can continue her studies in a welding program at Sault College.

Ontario Court Justice John Kukurin imposed the jail term, a joint Crown-defence submission, after the 22-year-old, who has no prior criminal record, pleaded guilty to five charges.

Three of the offences - two charges of assault with a weapon and a single count of carrying a knife to commit an offence - occurred on June 1.

Two other charges stemmed from recognizance breaches that occurred Sunday.

Kukurin heard Fisher and a group of 21-to-25-year-olds had just left a bar, when they stopped at the Wellington Street West Mac's Mart at 2:30 a.m.

About four teenagers, between the age of 15 and 18, were also there, and when Fisher's group was leaving the parking lot, she jumped out of the car, indicating she knew one of the girls, and ran after her, prosecutor Dana Peterson said. 

A teenaged girl told police the accused had a knife, and she shoved Fisher because she was frightened, then screamed for help.

She said Fisher hit her and cut her arm and fingers, and when her 15-year-old brother saw the knife and came to assist her, he also was injured, the assistant Crown attorney said.

The girl underwent surgery on her arm, and received six stitches on her thumb.

Her brother also had stitches in his hand.

Defence lawyer Eric McCooeye said his client "was put to the ground" in "what was quite the melee" and "took it beyond what is allowed by the law."

Fisher also admitted she had breached a curfew condition and another recognizance requirement that she not be outside her residence with alcohol in her body on Sept. 16.

Fighting back tears, the young woman told the judge that she has been "struggling with alcohol" and that her mother has moved here from Winnipeg to assist her.

"I need help so I can go to school."

Peterson said the lawyers' joint position took into account the accused's early guilty pleas, her lack of a criminal record and indigenous background.

Fisher has a serious drinking problem, and they want to encourage her to continue her education and "set herself up for a further lucrative career,"  the Crown said.

Fisher told the judge she has encountered the complainants where "they're constantly screaming at me" in public spaces when she is walking down the street with her infant daughter.

Once she completes her sentence, Fisher will be on probation for 18 months with numerous conditions, including a requirement that she undergo counselling for substance abuse.

She also must provide a DNA sample for the national database, and has a five-year weapons prohibition.

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About the Author: Linda Richardson

Linda Richardson is a freelance journalist who has been covering Sault Ste. Marie's courts and other local news for more than 45 years.
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