Sask. hockey player resting at home after neck slashed by skate
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'Considering the circumstances ... this is best-case scenario,' Cole Cusitar said.
The second day of a dangerous offender hearing for a man guilty of a vicious attempted murder got underway this morning at Prince Albert Provincial Court.
Leslie Ivan Roderick Black pleaded guilty to an attempted murder dating back to 2014 when he attacked Marlene Bird. As a result of the attack, both of Bird’s legs were amputated and her eyesight was severely damaged. The Crown is now seeking to have Black designated as a dangerous offender, which would allow a judge to impose an indeterminate prison sentence.
This morning, the court heard from two employees of Correctional Service Canada (CSC) who clarified the distinctions between dangerous offenders and other federal inmates.
CSC employee James Gonzo, who deals with assessment and interventions in the prairie region, testified as to the differences between dangerous offenders and other inmates at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary. When a dangerous offender is moved to minimum security, Gonzo said, the institution must get approval from national headquarters, while normally the institutional head makes the ultimate decision.
The court also heard from Tyler McKinnon, supervisor for the Prince Albert parole office. McKinnon explained of the roughly 95 parolees currently supervised in the region, McKinnon said only one has the dangerous offender designation. He explained the offender will be supervised for an indeterminate amount of time – possibly his lifetime.
“He’s been supervised for over 10 years now,” McKinnon said.
Two weeks have been set aside for the hearing, but Crown Prosecutor Jeff Lubyk said he expects the Crown to close their case as soon as Thursday.