American sentenced to time already served for ‘despicable’ attack on Lakeshore woman

An American man is out of jail and being deported after being sentenced in a case of intimate partner violence. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske explains.

Shermere Coulston-Hawkins, 24, was sentenced Wednesday morning to 18 months in jail for choking and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

On Dec. 23, 2023, Coulston-Hawkins came to Windsor for a second date with a woman from Belle River.

They got into an argument when the woman wouldn’t let Coulston-Hawkins look through her phone, so he choked her, court learned.

The woman got away from Coulston-Hawkins without serious injury.

Four hours later, in downtown Windsor, Coulston-Hawkins admitted to hitting her with his car. The force of the collision sent the woman into the air, and she landed on the ground.

The woman suffered injuries to her teeth and a concussion but was otherwise physically uninjured.

Coulston-Hawkins left her on the sidewalk before turning himself into police at Windsor Regional Hospital some time later.

Assistant Crown Attorney Zach Battiston asked for a prison term of four to eight years while defence lawyer Evan Weber sought a term of 18 months.

“Make no mistake, what he did was despicable,” Justice Kelly Gorman said Wednesday. “But he has accepted responsibility for his actions.”

Gorman gave Coulston-Hawkins credit for pleading guilty, showing remorse, turning himself into police and being a first-time offender.

The judge noted the victim continues to suffer from “emotional instability” and the lasting effects of a concussion — injuries the judge says have “deeply and permanently altered her wellbeing.”

Gorman however called the prosecutions sentence request “grossly disproportionate” to the crimes Coulston-Hawkins pleaded guilty to.

He had been facing a total of seven charges including attempted murder, forcible confinement and aggravated assault.

Coulston-Hawkins was sentenced to 18 months in jail for dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm and 30 days for choking to be served consecutively.

However, Coulston-Hawkins never got out of jail after his arrest in 2023 and has already served 28 months in custody.

The judge sentenced him to three years probation, during which time he cannot return to Canada from his home in Philadelphia.

However, the judge does not have jurisdiction to put any probation orders on Coulston-Hawkins in the United States, so he is a free man when he gets home.

Weber told CTV News Coulston-Hawkins will be released from jail after filling out local paperwork before he is handed over to either Canadian border officials, American border officials or immigration authorities in Detroit.