Kamloops man 'scared straight' after causing $10K in blood damage to neighbour's home during psychotic episode

Photo: Castanet Staff

A former nurse who caused $10,000 in bloody damage to a neighbour’s townhouse after cutting himself while breaking in during a drug-induced psychotic episode last summer says he’s been “scared straight.”

Jonathan Phillips pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court on Thursday to two counts of forcible entry.

Court heard police were called to a townhouse complex in the 800-block of Sahali Terrace at about 5 a.m. on Aug. 30 for a report of a man in distress.

Phillips, 45, was hallucinating after using crystal meth. In his delusion, he believed a woman named Amanda was being tortured inside a townhouse neighbouring his. He believed it was up to him to save her, court was told.

When police arrived, they found broken glass and visible blood at one of the townhouse units. Phillips trailed blood throughout the home, causing extensive damage.

“He cut his head and hands on [the glass while breaking in] and then kind of bled all over the home while he walked around,” Crown prosecutor Katie Bouchard said.

“Because of the amount of blood that was involved, there was significant restoration work that had to occur.”

Mounties found Phillips in his neighbouring unit. Bouchard said he was “talking nonsense” when police began asking him questions.

“Mr. Phillips was angry at police for ignoring Amanda’s plight and was professing his love to her, vowing to eat the male alive who was torturing her,” she said.

Phillips is trained as a psychiatric nurse. Court heard his life went off the rails following a 2013 assault in which he suffered a serious brain injury.

He began finding himself in trouble with the law in 2015 and has amassed a significant record in recent years.

Bouchard said Phillips’ neighbour’s restoration work cost $10,000, and he has already repaid her the $500 she forked out as a deductible.

“I apologize for all the trouble I’ve caused,” Phillips said in court.

“I know what caused it — it was me being under the influence of methamphetamine, which caused psychosis. I know I can’t be doing that. I’ve scared myself straight. I’ve gone to hell and back, and I’m too scared to go back there.”

Court heard Phillips has not used drugs since the incident and he had been clean for more than three years before it.

Phillips was placed on three months of house arrest and a further 12 months of probation. He was also handed a five-year firearms prohibition.