A man pleaded guilty to two criminal charges resulting from an incident in 2023 where he fatally shot a dog and injured its owner in Maple Ridge.
Dustin Born, the owner of an Abbotsford construction company called Twin Maple Construction, pleaded guilty to killing an animal, as well as break and enter.
The guilty plea came to light in court documents about a dispute over the construction of a turkey barn for the owners of a Maple Ridge farm called Skyacres Turkey Ranches Ltd.
Born was hired in July 2020 to build a turkey barn for Dudley, Shumei, and Stephen Brooks. However, court documents revealed that although construction began soon after, the relationship between Born and the Brooks’ family soured and the contract was terminated in December 2020.
Allegations of assaults between Born and Shumei and Stephen soon followed.
Stephen filed a notice of civil claim on Dec. 3, seeking damages from Born, accusing him of refusing to fulfill the contract, and also for trespassing, assault and battery, the discharge of a builders’ lien that Born and his company had placed on the property, and a fine.
On Jan. 5, the following year, Born and his company filed their own notice of civil claim against the turkey farm and all three of the Brooks, for debt or contractual damages in addition to damages for the value of their services, even though the work did not take place – as well as “punitive and aggravated damages.”
Two years later, in 2023, Born shot Shumei, injuring her, and shot and killed the Brooks’ dog.
Born is representing himself in the ongoing civil battle regarding the turkey barn, which has seen bickering between the two companies.
In a hearing before Justice A.J. Krentz, the Brooks family argued that the shooting assault should be included in the civil case over the original turkey barn construction contract, which Born opposes.
In another hearing before Justice Nitya Iyer, Born wanted to have his case against the Brooks’ family decided summarily, however Iyer noted in a recent ruling that this would not be possible.
Born, the Justice noted, had submitted an abundant amount of evidence – one affidavit alone included 1,500 pages of exhibits and there were nine more binders of material – some of them deficient, Justice Iyer said. And, she added, much of the documentary evidence is not admissible in its current form. She advised that a witness is needed to take the stand and testify, “likely” Born himself.
“That is the only way to ensure an adequate and comprehensible evidentiary record,” noted Iyer.
Credibility is also a factor in this case, as Iyer noted many of the facts by both parties are based on oral evidence where the written contract was modified by an oral agreement.
The Brooks family also applied for Born to be declared a “vexatious litigant” in order to stop him from filing applications without permission from the court, which Justice Iyer dismissed.
Iyer said that after hearing from both parties over two days, it was “abundantly clear that there is a great deal of acrimony between the parties.”
“In order for this litigation to proceed in an efficient, effective, and civil manner, judicial case management is required,” said Iyer, once Justice Krentz made his ruling.
Iyer dismissed both the applications before her, noting that each party would have to bear their own costs.
Born is next in court on Tuesday, Aug. 13, when he is expected to be sentenced for the charges he pleaded guilty to. If he is not sentenced on that day, another court date has been set for Wednesday, Sept. 18.
The civil case is ongoing.
