THUNDER BAY - The reasons for a violent attack and the discharging of a firearm in a public area remain unknown, but the man responsible has been sentenced to eight years for his actions that sent one man to hospital with serious injuries in late 2019.
Jonah Lawson Yellowhead, 26, appeared in a Thunder Bay Courtroom on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to attempted murder and careless use of a firearm and was sentenced to eight years.
With pre-sentence custody of 585 days enhanced to 876 days or approximately 2.4 years, Yellowhead will remain in custody for 5.6 years going forward.
“In my estimation custody is necessary here for deterrence for you to keep you from doing these crimes again and to show you that these kinds of offences, especially using a firearm, will not be tolerated,” said Justice Danalyn MacKinnon when handing down her sentence, which was a joint submission on behalf of the Crown and defense attorney George Joseph.
According to facts read to the court, the incident took place on Dec. 21, 2019, when Yellowhead was staying at a residence on Queen Street. The victim, who is related to Yellowhead, was also invited to stay at the residence and was sleeping on the couch.
The victim awoke just before noon to find Yellowhead on top of him, who then proceeded to stab him total of 12 times in the neck, chest, face, and arms. The victim was able to free himself from Yellowhead and fled the residence and ran toward a nearby pet store.
Yellowhead retrieved a shotgun and pursued the victim, firing a single shot in his direction as he entered the store. The shot travelled over the heads of a store clerk and customer and shotgun pellets were found lodged in the door frame and behind the customer service counter.
A neighbour called 911 and the victim returned to the residence on Queen Street where he was found by Thunder Bay Police Service officers before being transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre by ambulance.
Officers responding to the scene were able to follow bloody footprints in the snow and located Yellowhead, who was observed throwing something later found to be shotgun shells. He was arrested at gun point and later disclosed the location of the discarded shotgun. A search of the residence also uncovered an open box of 12-gauge shotgun shells and a knife with blood like substances on it.
The victim required surgery as a result of the stab wounds and according to a victim impact statement submitted to the court, he is still receiving treatment for his injuries, as well as suffering mental and emotional trauma as a result of the incident.
“I can’t watch movies, like horror movies. I get triggered,” the victim told the court. “I can’t smudge in the morning because I smelt sage that morning. I can’t do that. I can’t smell sage. It triggers that day, that morning.”
Another victim impact statement was submitted by a customer who was inside the pet store at the time of the incident. He recalled the shotgun blast travelling over his head and being fearful for the clerk and other customers inside.
“You feel vulnerable, it stays with you, it exacerbates everything else going on in your life,” he told the court. “It is lucky that he didn’t kill three people.”
In a statement read to the court by Joseph, Yellowhead said his actions that day are not who he really is, and he detailed being an active and supportive member of his home community of Nibinamik First Nation during his youth.
A Gladue report also shared details of a difficult childhood but Justice MacKinnon said there are many people who grow up with similar circumstances who do not turn to violence.
“They recognize that those things that happened to them or the situations they had, they have to work through it and try to make their life better,” she said. “You have to make that commitment to make your life better or you will end up going back into custody when you get out.”
No explanation was provided as to why Yellowhead attacked the victim.
“There is no explanation he or I can give you as to why he embarked on this course of mayhem,” Joseph said. “He and I are extremely thankful that it wasn’t more serious than it currently is, but that is not to detract from the seriousness of it.”
Justice MacKinnon added that this is a very difficult case and deals with extreme violence that almost resulted in the death of the victim, as well as lasting impacts on others involved.
“As you can see, not only is there physical things that remain, but all of the people who spoke here today have emotional problems as a result of your actions,” she said. “The things that happened on this day are things the community needs to be protected from and as a result, need to be protected from you.”
Justice MacKinnon also took into consideration Yellowhead’s past criminal record, which included three aggravated assault charges.
However, given Yellowhead’s age, Justice MacKinnon told him he can still turn his life around and return as a productive member of his community.
“You have to be able to show by the way you live from today that you are that person you spoke about in your letter to the court. I believe you were that person at one time. I heard positive things, your contributions to your own community,” Justice MacKinnon said.
“There’s no reason you can’t do these things in the future. But no one will tolerate you coming back into society acting the way you did that got you into custody at this time. The things that happened on that day, the stabbing, the firearm, terrorizing people, these are offences that call for a denunciatory sentence.”
Yellowhead was sentenced to eight years on the attempted murder charge and two years on the careless use of a firearm charge to be served concurrently. With credit for time served, Yellowhead will remain in custody for 5.6 years. All other charges were marked as withdrawn at the request of the Crown.
Yellowhead is also required to submit a DNA sample and has a lifetime weapons prohibition, with an exemption for subsistence hunting on Crown or reserve land while accompanied by an elder and free of drugs or alcohol.
