A Saskatoon woman has been sentenced for helping a man, who allegedly stabbed her friend during a meth-fueled argument over a phone chip, escape.
Court heard Nicole Ashley Paddy, 28, had been using drugs the night Rocky Genereaux was attacked in his bedroom in the 400 block of Avenue I South on March 12, 2015. He later died from his injuries.While she did not participate in the stabbing, Paddy told the people who were in the house “you better not tell anyone or say anything” before her and the accused killer took off. The pair were out on parole at the time and police issued a Canada-wide warrant for their arrest.
The accused man thought Genereaux was responsible for either breaking or stealing his phone chip, the Crown explained during sentencing. An argument broke out and Genereaux was stabbed in the stomach.
During the 911 call, the victim could be heard saying he knew nothing about a stolen phone chip.
On Monday, Paddy pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to aggravated assault at Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench.
“The facts as alleged by the Crown have it so that Rocky Genereaux was still alive at the time that Nicole Paddy fled the residence, which meant that she couldn’t be an accessory after the fact to murder because the victim had yet to die,” prosecutor Melodi Kujawa said outside the courthouse.
Genereaux died in the hospital, and the man who allegedly stabbed him is still before the court charged with second-degree murder.
Justice Ron Mills accepted the Crown and defence joint-submission of 15 months time served, tacking on nine months of probation with conditions that Paddy not have contact with any of the witnesses who are scheduled to testify at the accused killer’s trial in June.
Paddy’s lawyer said her client has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings while in custody and has reached out to community support groups like the Elizabeth Fry Society. She said Paddy’s criminal record is related to drug and alcohol abuse, and while “criminality was normalized behavior” in her family, the offender wants to be a contributing member of society.
Standing up in the prisoner’s box, Paddy asked for forgiveness for the role she played in the stabbing-turned-murder.
“I hope you don’t hold a lot of hate and anger towards me,” Paddy said to Genereaux’s family and friends, many who wore white T-shirts with a picture of the 42-year-old victim, before addressing the judge. “I’m really trying to move forward from this.”