GORE BAY—A Toronto man of no fixed address has pleaded guilty to charges relating to an incident that resulted in a shelter in place of safety advisory for residents in the village of Kagawong. Residents awoke on October 11, 2021 to find the village teeming with police officers, who were responding to an early morning call involving a domestic disturbance and an individual barricaded in a residence.
On Friday, March 18, the court heard that the accused, the complainant and two casual acquaintances visited the complainant’s property on Main Street in Kagawong to attend to tenant issues, visit for the weekend and collect some personal belongings. All four persons at the residence were from Toronto. There was drug and alcohol use that included marijuana and crystal meth. The accused and the complainant were coming down from drugs and were involved in a day-long argument, the court heard. The accused was witnessed to have spat on the complainant, threatening her and the two guests that he was going to kill them, and smashing items in the basement.
One of the guests left the residence after threats were uttered and contacted police at 4:07 am on the morning of October 11. Members of the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service attended the scene, followed by officers from the Manitoulin detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). A shelter in place of safety advisory was issued at approximately 10 am that lasted until the incident was resolved without injury at approximately 4 pm.
There was an extensive police presence in the village as Manitoulin OPP crime unit members assisted with the occurrence. Other OPP units also attended the incident, including an emergency response team, a tactics and rescue unit, a canine unit, a remotely piloted aerial system, OPP negotiators and an OPP critical incident commander.
The 28-year-old construction worker has no prior criminal record, pleaded guilty to knowingly uttering a threat to cause death, contrary to section 264(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada (CC); assault, contrary to section 266 of the CC; and mischief to property, not exceeding the value of $5,000, contrary to section 430(4) of the CC. Other charges were withdrawn by the Crown.
He was sentenced to one day time served with noted 30 days of time served, a suspended sentence and 12 months probation. A section 110 weapons prohibition order was issued for a period for two years, effective upon his release from custody at the Toronto North Detention Centre, and he is required to submit a DNA sample.
Due to the domestic nature of the offence, the individual is not being named to protect the identity of the victim.
