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Lethbridge Courthouse

Man convicted of beating partner, keeping her in RV for two days, sentenced in Lethbridge Provincial Court

Sep 5, 2019 | 2:06 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A 53-year-old man who has five prior domestic assault convictions involving three different partners, and a criminal record dating back to 1980, has been convicted again of multiple offences involving a former girlfriend.

Gordon Leslie Nash pleaded guilty Thursday in Lethbridge Provincial Court to two counts of assault, uttering death threats, unlawful confinement and breach of conditions.

The latest offences, related to matters between April 19, 2019 and April 28, 2019.

According to a joint Crown and Defense submission, Lethbridge Police were called to a home on 6 St. S. April 19, 2019, after the landlord of a property became concerned about a tenant having an argument with someone. Police attended the scene and interviewed Nash and a woman who lived in the home. The two had been in a relationship for about three months. The woman told police she had been kicked in the torso with steel toed boots.

The woman left her home for a short time, and when she returned, the 53-year-old was gone. She went to bed, but abruptly woke later to see Nash standing over her bed. He began hitting her, accusing her of sleeping with other men- and threatened to kill her.

In a second incident April 28, 2019, Lethbridge Police were called again to the same home on 6 St. S. after the same woman’s parents asked for a welfare check. When officers went to the home, the woman was there, however very weak and in pain. She told officers she had been assaulted and held against her will.

The Crown told Judge G.S. Maxwell that during an investigation, it was revealed that on April 26, Nash had gone to the woman’s home after being released from custody stemming from the matter on April 19. The woman got into his truck and he drove her to Coaldale to a business where he kept an RV inside.

The woman was taken into the RV and beaten so badly on her arms and torso that she lay on the floor for the next two days. Nash told her once again that he believed she was seeing other men and that she shouldn’t have reported the previous matter to police.

On April 28, the woman told Nash she needed medication (methadone) and begged him to let her go. He drove her back to her home and left her there.

When asked by Judge Maxwell whether he wanted to say anything, Nash told the court, “your Honour, I want to say I’m really sorry for all of this. I guess I shouldn’t have started drugs myself. I’m not a drug user. Miss (victim’s name) started getting me involved.”

Maxwell told the court “to simply say that this is an abhorrent domestic assault is an understatement.”

He then described photos taken of the victim’s injuries as revealing an extreme beating administered by Nash at a time when he told the court she would be safe – because he would have no contact with her – which further aggravated the case against him.

Nash’s Defense lawyer told the court he had been gainfully employed for several years, owned his own home in Lethbridge, and that he planned to go “up north” to work once his sentence was completed.

The 53-year-old was sentenced to 16 months in jail in total. However, with credit for time served, the remainder of his sentence would be just over 9 months, followed by 12 months of probation. He must submit a DNA sample, is prohibited from owning or possessing any weapons or firearms for life and must stay at least 100 metres away from his victim and/or her home. He is also under orders not to contact the victim either directly or indirectly from jail.

Nash will be back in Lethbridge Provincial Court Sept. 20, to deal with four new charges while in jail – arising from the same matter – including failure to comply, intimidation of a justice system participant, attempted obstruction and threats causing death or bodily harm.