An alcohol-fueled spree through Central Middle School led a Red Deer man to two years of probation and time served.
The crime spree included punching a teacher, chasing students and banging band instruments before police were able to arrest the shirtless man.
Tristan Palmer Krahn, 27, of Red Deer pleaded guilty to assault and disturbing the peace on Tuesday in Red Deer provincial court before Judge John Holmes.
Police arrested Krahn at about 2 p.m. on March 5 near the school in downtown Red Deer.
Krahn followed a music class into school earlier that afternoon. Once inside the band room, he banged a few instruments around. The teacher told Krahn he couldn’t be there, but Krahn persisted.
The teacher attempted to get the students into another room, but three were left behind. Krahn chased the three students down the school’s hall, bumping into a door and spilling alcohol out of the bottle he held.
Krahn slammed one of the students into a locker.
He continued up and down the halls and was confronted by another teacher, who told him to leave. Krahn punched the teacher in the chin before continuing his way through the school.
He entered another classroom and hid behind a desk, before he was told to leave by another teacher.
Krahn made his way back to the band room and briefly barricaded himself in a storage area.
He then escaped the room by breaking a window and climbing out. He tore his shirt off in the process.
He was arrested a short time later, near the school, by Red Deer RCMP.
Duty counsel Amna Qureshi called the incident out of character for Krahn.
Qureshi outlined how Krahn had been going through some tough times. The breakdown of a long-standing relationship and the loss of a job led him down a self-destructive path.
Crown prosecutor Carolyn Ayre and Qureshi agreed that Krahn should be sentenced to two-years probation and time served. He has been in custody since March 5 and was given 20 days credit for his pre-trial custody.
Qureshi protested the inclusion of an abstinence from alcohol or drugs clause in Krahn’s probation, saying it would set him up to fail.
Holmes included the abstinence clause as that was the root cause of the problem. But Holmes said he believed that if Krahn kept with treatment he wouldn’t be back in court.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com