A St. Charles man who made headlines about nine months ago after going on a rampage and being shot at by police is forbidden to return to his home in the next three years.
Stefan Chopta, 48, was released from jail Monday after spending nine months there but was banned from his home and ordered to find a new place to stay by Ontario Court Justice Guy Mahaffy.
He cannot return for the duration of his three-year probation period.
Mahaffy was reluctant to impose the ban, but cited Chopta's history of terrorizing his neighbours in making the only choice he had.
Chopta was arrested after a 19-hour standoff with police last Dec. 28. He initially faced 17 charges, including utter death threats, assault with a weapon, assault, unauthorized possession of a firearm and careless storage of a firearm.
He was convicted of assaulting his wife, his daughter and a neighbour. It started as a drunken rampage Dec. 27, which saw him steal a truck, run it into houses, cars and ultimately toward police officers.
Chopta, described as a schizophrenic not taking his medication at the time of incident during court proceedings, was ordered to make no contact with his estranged wife or his two daughters and seek psychiatric assessment and pursue any treatment prescribed.
In a victim impact statement, Chopta's wife said he beat her, spat on her and demeaned her in front of the children for years, sometimes demanding the girls agree with the insults.
Since Chopta's incarceration, his wife said her life has found some normalcy.