Maximum youth sentence for teen’s violent rampage By: Dean Pritchard Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 25, 2023

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This article was published 25/04/2023 (867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg teen who severely injured an 84-year-old woman in an unprovoked stabbing has been handed a maximum youth sentence of three years custody and community supervision.

The now-16-year-old boy — who pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault in connection with a violent rampage in the Grant Park area July 12, 2022 — had no prior criminal record before the shocking attack, a court heard.

“Legally, this would probably be described as an unprovoked assault,” provincial court Judge Dale Schille told the teen at a sentencing hearing last week.

“That really is an understatement. This is someone who you had no interaction with at all before you attacked her, literally out of the blue.”

The teen had already vandalized two cars and attempted to break into a shed of an area resident when he came upon the senior walking in the vicinity of Rockwood Street and Lorette Avenue and “proceeded to stab her with a large, military-style hunting knife,” Crown attorney Jodi Koffman told court.

Trail of shocking, bloody violence ends in mall parking lot

The man whose vehicles the teen had vandalized drove up at the same time and honked his horn at him, Koffman said. “As (the teen) goes to flee, he then turns around and stabs (the woman) once more as she is already on the ground bleeding.”

The man used his vehicle to pursue the teen down a back lane, at which point the teen turned around, ran up to the open driver’s side window and slashed the man’s arm and wrist.

The injured man’s brother and nephew caught up to the teen in the parking lot of Grant Park Mall. The teen stabbed the brother in the chest and groin before the pair were able to subdue and hold him for police.

The woman was taken to hospital with stab wounds to her chest and back, and a broken nose.

“There was concern (she) wasn’t going to make it, given her age and where the stab wounds were located,” the Crown said.

Before she was attacked, the woman was healthy and active, enjoyed going to the movies, shopping and visiting friends, and was preparing for a trip to Europe.

“There was concern (she) wasn’t going to make it, given her age and where the stab wounds were located.”–Crown attorney

“All of those things are now inaccessible to her, and that makes her angry because she didn’t deserve any of what happened to her,” Koffman said.

The woman spent nearly six weeks in hospital, during which time she had open-heart surgery and had her spleen removed, she wrote in a victim impact statement provided to court.

She can no longer live independently and relies on her 85-year-old brother “for simple things like getting a glass of water or cutting up my food.”

The teen immediately confessed to police and expressed remorse for his actions, Koffman said. Upon his arrest, justice officials quickly ordered a forensic psychiatric report. “The fact that (he) had no record and this was the level of violence, was extremely concerning.”

While he may not have had any prior involvement with the justice system, the teen’s behaviour had been raising red flags for years, the Crown said.

The boy’s father introduced him to alcohol at a young age and drug use followed. At 12, he “started glorifying the gangster lifestyle.” He armed himself with knives, dealt drugs and threatened people at ATMs.

“In many respects, (he) is lucky that he comes to the court pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated assault instead of two counts of murder or manslaughter.”–Defence lawyer Mitchell Enright

A 2019 psychiatric report, prepared at his mother’s urging, found while he had a normal IQ, he exhibited “significant impairment in executive functioning” and was “vulnerable to impulsivity.” He was later diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder and substance use disorder.

A more recent forensic report prepared in advance of his sentencing found the teen has shown “a very genuine change in attitude, empathy and remorse,” said defence lawyer Mitchell Enright.

In a pre-sentence report prepared by Probation Services, the teen described his actions as “horrific” and “atrocious.”

Enright said the teen was fortunate his victims were so “incredibly tough.”

“In many respects, (he) is lucky that he comes to the court pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated assault instead of two counts of murder or manslaughter,” the lawyer said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.

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