A young Surrey woman who was released from jail after serving time for beating a 14-year-old Surrey boy to death is back in prison.
Jade Pollard was sentenced to five years for manslaughter in the death of Justin Vasey. She got out of jail in March of this year after serving two-thirds of her sentence, but was ordered back into custody in early June after breaching terms of her release.
Pollard and three others – Jordan Anthony George, Cody Pelletier and Danielle Wood-Sinclair – were drinking at an abandoned house in Surrey in February 2008. Vasey, the youngest of the group, was thrown off the roof of the house by two of Pollard's co-accused. He survived but the four continued to beat him, using a brick, knife and a rock, for approximately 30 minutes, despite Vasey pleading for them to stop.
During a police undercover operation, Pollard admitted punching and kicking him several times and stabbing him twice. Though they were teens at the time, all four pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced as adults, allowing their names to be made public. Their sentences ranged from four to seven years.
Pollard was released to a community residential facility on March 11. Just a month later, her release was suspended briefly when she missed her curfew, but was reinstated.
Then on June 1, she again failed to return by curfew. This time, she woke up in a hospital and claimed she was assaulted. When challenged by her parole officer, Pollard changed her story, admitting to meeting friends and drinking alcohol, contrary to her release conditions.
She said she blacked out from excessive drinking and woke up in another part of the city smoking crack cocaine, with people she didn't know. Pollard said she got into a fight and got hit on the head, landing her in hospital.
In an Aug. 27 written decision, the parole board revoked Pollard's release over concern with her relapse into alcohol use, despite taking programs in prison. They said she put herself in a high-risk situation by drinking so much she passed out and using drugs with apparent strangers. The board was also troubled by her "deception and outright lying" about the situation.
The board's decision noted Pollard had previously made significant success in prison and had upgraded her education. Since her recent return to jail, she completed the Women Offender Self Management Program on July 24. A psychological report the same month recommended she attend a substance abuse treatment program before returning to a residential facility.
Pollard, now 21, is entitled to another automatic statutory release next spring. The board said it will review her file to decide the special conditions that will apply should she get out of prison again.
In March, co-accused Jordan George had his day parole revoked for breaching his conditions.