THUNDER BAY — A judge has ruled a man convicted of manslaughter in the death of Braiden Jacob and also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for an attack at the Thunder Bay District Jail that sent another inmate to hospital should not undergo an assessment for a dangerous or long-term offender designation.
Jonathan Yellowhead, 26, appeared before Justice Danial Newton in a Thunder Bay Courtroom on Monday for a ruling on a motion submitted by the Crown last spring seeking Yellowhead undergo an assessment as part of a dangerous offender application.
The assessment application was submitted was part of sentencing following Yellowhead pleading guilty to aggravated assault for his role in an attack on an inmate that took place at the Thunder Bay District Jail in September 2019.
The assault involved several other inmates and resulted in the inmate suffering numerous injuries, including a concussion, a fractured orbital bone, a bruised heart, and bruises and lacerations to the face.
Yellowhead was also found guilty of manslaughter in August 2022 following a seven-day trial held in April for his role in the death of 18-year-old Braiden Jacob, whose body was found in the Chapples Park area on Dec. 8, 2018.
It was determined Jacob died as a result of hypothermia, alcohol intoxication, and blunt force trauma. Justice Bonnie Warkentin ruled the evidence showed beyond a reasonable doubt that Yellowhead was responsible for inflicting the injuries upon Jacob.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a dangerous offender designation carries an indeterminate jail sentence and is determined by an offender displaying repetitive violent behaviour and lack of remorse, thereby posing potential future risk to the public.
A long-term offender designation involves the supervision of the offender for a period of 10 years.
The Crown argued last spring that Yellowhead’s behaviour included violence both outside and within correctional institutions and the attack on the inmate in the jail demonstrated a pattern of aggressive behaviour.
According to the Crown, the district jail assault also demonstrated that Yellowhead would unlikely be inhibited by normal custody standards.
Defense counsel Neil McCartney pointed to the conditions at the Thunder Bay District Jail, calling "a bit rougher" than the average correctional facility in the province.
McCartney also referenced the other accused in the assault, who received sentences of two to three years.
Newton reviewed Yellowhead’s past criminal record, which included several convictions relating to violence and assault, as well as pre-sentence reports that were filed with the court following those convictions.
Regarding the manslaughter conviction for Jacob’s death, Newton said it was an incident that occurred when all involved parties were significantly impaired and cited the pathologist’s evidence that Jacob would not have died from the blunt force trauma injuries alone.
“The pathologist concluded that it was the high level of ethanol in Mr. Jacob’s blood, together with blunt facial trauma that possibly resulted in loss of consciousness preventing him to seek shelter from the cold and consequently he died of hypothermia,” he said.
Newton also cited the conditions inside the Thunder Bay District Jail when referring to the assault in September 2019.
“With respect to the altercations with other inmates at the Thunder Bay District Jail and the aggravated assault, I take judicial onus of the continual overcrowding and frequent lockdowns present at this facility,” he said.
“I am not satisfied this behaviour while in prison in these conditions is predictive of future behaviour as outlined in the dangerous or long-term designations.”
Looking at all past incidents, Newton said he does not believe Yellowhead’s behaviour requires an assessment for a dangerous offender designation.
Newton also cited Yellowhead’s expressions of remorse for his actions in the jail assault and his work toward completing his education while in custody.
“Based on the totality of the information from all occurrences, I do not find this behaviour amounts to reasonable grounds to believe this is a pattern of repetitive behaviour showing a failure to restrain his behaviour in the likelihood to cause death or injury through failure in the future to restrain his behaviour,” he said.
“I do not find there are reasonable grounds to believe the behaviour is of such a brutal nature to compel the conclusion that Mr. Yellowhead’s behavior in the future is unlikely to be inhibited by normal standards of restraint.”
The assessment application for the dangerous or long-term offender designation was ultimately dismissed.
The matter has been adjourned to Oct. 31 to set a date for sentencing on the manslaughter conviction.
