THUNDER BAY - Two men with long criminal records will be assessed as part of an application put forward by the Crown to designate them as dangerous offenders.
On Tuesday, Crown attorney Stacey Hamilton filed an application for a dangerous offender assessment to be conducted on Cody Hill and Garnet Loon before Justice Frank Valente as part of sentencing relating to a violent assault at the Thunder Bay District Jail in August 2019.
A dangerous offender designation is sought for individuals convicted of a serious personal injury offence who are believed to be a threat to the life, safety, physical, or mental well-being of others, show a pattern of persistent aggressive behaviour, or that committed offences are of such a brutal nature that the behaviour is unlikely to inhibited by normal standards or behavioural restraints.
Both Hill and Loon have lengthy criminal records. Hill, of London, Ont. was convicted of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon from an incident in Dec. 2019 and three counts of breaching a probation order. He was also convicted of being in possession of a stolen vehicle and a prohibited weapon from an arrest in May 2019, as well as resisting a peace officer and breach of probation.
In August 2019, Hill, along with Loon and Charles Casmey were charged with aggravated assault for an alleged attack on a fellow inmate at the Thunder Bay District Jail.
Hill was charged again with aggravated assault along with Paul Vukmanich in April 2020 for an alleged stabbing incident at the Thunder Bay District Jail that injured two inmates.
An incident in May 2020 resulted in further charges of assaulting a peace officer while in custody and four counts of breaching a probation order.
Loon, of Cat Lake First Nation, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the 2017 death of Robert Lloyd Gray and sentenced to 16 years in custody.
In 2009,Loon also pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the beating death of 18-year-old Jordan Achneepineskum.
Hill and Loon have since been convicted of aggravated assault for the incident at the Thunder Bay District Jail in August 2019 and as part of the sentencing, the Crown is seeking a dangerous offender assessment.
A psychiatric assessment will be conducted on Hill and Loon in early February. During the hearing on Tuesday where the application for the dangerous offender designation was brought forward, there was some debate regarding when the 60-day assessment period should begin.
Hamilton requested that it not begin until the actual assessments take place in early February, allowing for more time to prepare for possible the transfers of Hill and Loon and prepare the report. Defense counsel Ryan Green, representing Loon, and Jeffrey Fisher on behalf of Hill, argued the assessment period should begin when the application is ordered.
Justice Valente agreed, saying more time can be granted if needed due to the assessments not taking place until February.
A dangerous offender designation can result in an offender receiving a sentence for an indeterminate period of time, a sentence for the offence upon conviction that must be a minimum of two years followed by long-term supervision that does not exceed 10 years, or a sentence for which the offender has been convicted.
