During my protest in 2003, I noticed this guy sitting and sleeping on diifferent benches in the city. L'Acadie Nouvelle did a story on this guy. Last year, he was gone. Nobody knew where he was. I said- A guy like that could dissapear from the face of the earth and nobody will notice. Well, once in Saint John, I saw him sitting on a bench. I appraoched him and he shouted- DO YOU HAVE A SMOKE? I let the area. Well, now I know where he is.
NB Telegraph-Journal | Saint John
As published on page B3 on September 23, 2005
Woman kicked at city bus stop for looking at attacker wrong way
Munn unleashes a string of profanity in court about incident
By Bruce Bartlett
Telegraph-Journal
Larry Kevin Munn, 47, is a large man with wild hair and a beard who has roamed the streets of Saint John for the past several months.
Thursday he was found guilty of assaulting a woman at a bus stop at King's Square and pleaded guilty to missing an earlier court appearance.
Next week he faces a more serious charge of aggravated assault against a 71-year-old man who suffered a broken hip last May on Charlotte Street.
Thursday the female victim testified she was waiting in a crowd at King's Square North on May 17 around 10 a.m. When her West-bound bus arrived she moved forward with the crowd and accidentally bumped shoulders with Mr. Munn. She looked at him but said nothing and moved on. Within a second she was kicked in the rear.
The victim said she turned around to see who had done it and was shouted at by Mr. Munn and told to never do that again.
The victim said she turned away and got on the bus as fast as she could to get away from the man, whose name she did not know at the time. The kick left a bruise, she said.
Mr. Munn took the stand and admitted he had kicked her but told the judge he had already served time for that charge.
"She looked at me the wrong way," said Mr. Munn, along with a string of profanities about the incident.
Judge Andrew LeMesurier said he would check to make sure Mr. Munn hadn't already been sentenced on this matter, but suggested that he might have kicked so many people that he doesn't remember them all.
Mr. Munn was remanded back to jail and will be sentenced on Sept. 29 when he reappears for the aggravated assault trial.
Mr. Munn, who is originally from Fredericton, has been in and out of jail since arriving in Saint John.
3 comments:
Gosh, you don't think this sounds like somebody who needs hospitalization and psychiatric help?
Far more frightening to me is the JUDGE, a supposed 'impartial' figure who basically accuses him of kicking all sorts of people when there is NO evidence of that. Usually remarks like that come from a prosecutor and are then stricken from the record as conjecture, but when it comes from the judge...
I've met Larry Munn several years ago when I used to work the Sunday shift at the Community Kitchen. He was always very nice to me. On the other hand, I've always treated him with respect and would give him money for a cigarettes, coffee or a sandwich, even when it was obvious to me that he was a deeply troubled person with a serious mental illness who needed help. Larry and I have had many conversations about what he was going to do with his life. You should have seen the looks I'd get standing out on King Street, me all dressed up for work and Larry looking like a wildman with his long dishevelled hair sticking out all over the place, his dirty clothes and body smell a bit overwhelming. I'm sure people would think "What is that nice woman doing talking to that crazy man?" I can remember saying, "Larry, you have to make a plan, you can't sleep on the bench in the winter!" He didn't want to hear that but he had to listen to me if he wanted some change so he'd humour me and then stick out his hand, politely may I add. On an aside, I heard that they shortened the benches on King Street to make them uncomfortable so that Larry wouldn't sleep on them but that might be an urban myth. Anyways, I too haven't seen Larry for at least a year or more, and I wondered where he went. Now I know. I'm no mental health expert, but I'd say Larry's aggressive behaviour in Saint John indicates that he needs help but what kind of help? Some people cannot be helped: is Larry one of them? Don't think anything we do will ever really change Larry's nature: he's not going to get a job and settle down. What you see is what you get with Larry. There are many people like him who are basically harmless provided they take their medication. If they don't they snap. So what should the "system" do to help him? Wait until he seriously injures someone or "force" him to accept help in an institution? He has rights. It's a tricky situation and I wouldn't want to be the one making the decision. I'd personally like to see him safe and off the streets and I think a lot of other people feel the same way.
Yeahhh...you're right....there'a many people like Larry. As for snaping? Yes and I would consider myself one of them but we must remain in control at all times because if we cross that thin line? It's a trip to the mental health clinic for 30 days. I measured the bench in the Capital and they're 79 inches,,,,someone in Saint John is going to do the same action. Thanks and stay tune!!!!
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