By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Man who killed his mother with an axe breaches supervision conditions

Jun 6, 2017 | 6:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A 25-year old man who admitted to a charge of second degree murder for killing his mother with an axe in Fort Macleod in 2009, has been released from custody after breaching conditions of his supervision.

The man – who can’t be identified as he was 17 at the time of the offence – was given four years in custody in 2010, which he served in a hospital as part of his Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) sentence. That was followed by three years of supervision in the community, which is scheduled to come to an end on Sept. 13.

He was taken into custody on May 31, after meeting with an individual he was specifically ordered to stay away from. It was also noted that on May 26, he failed to report to his probation officer.

Crown prosecutor, Clayton Giles, explained that this is the fourth time the man has breached his conditions in the last year, citing drug use, meeting with the named individual and being outside of Calgary without approval as the previous offences.

Giles also discussed an email from the man’s probation officer, which stated that the man had become more aggressive since his release from custody and could be argumentative or completely disengaged. The probation officer also noted concerns for her own safety in meeting with him.

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“He does not seem to care what the court has said,” Giles stated, before suggesting the remainder of the supervision be collapsed into jail time – a recommendation made by the probation officer – or that at least half the remaining time be spent in custody, which would work out to 49-days.

Brett Carlson represented the man as duty counsel, saying the man failed to report in because he had finished working a night shift, went to another appointment, then fell asleep and simply forgot about it. He also acknowledged meeting with the other individual, but said it wasn’t planned. Carlson added that the man has been employed with a large construction company for over two months and was nearing the end of his probationary term, but would be laid off if he wasn’t able to make it to work that night (June 6).

Carlson said it was crucial for the man to maintain employment if he hopes to become a fully functioning member of society again, and asked that he be released right away.

After taking some time to consider the arguments from both sides, Judge Sylvia Oishi returned to the courtroom, where she noted the man’s “cavalier attitude”, but said, “I will not jeopardize his employment.”

She noted that his seven days in pre-trial custody would be enough and he was released.

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