Note: The following story contains some details which may be unsettling to some readers. Discretion is advised.
CORNWALL/MORRISBURG – A South Dundas youth who is “well known to police” has been sentenced for making false 911 calls and attacking a mentally challenged man with a hockey stick.
The 13-year-old pleaded guilty to providing false information, mischief and assault with a weapon in a Cornwall court today (Thursday).
Judge Franco Giamberardino sentenced the youth to three months of deferred custody and he will be on probation for a year-and-a-half. Deferred custody is similar to an adult conditional sentence, where the boy will have to abide by court conditions and meet with a youth worker.
His name and any evidence that may identify him is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Between September and April, SD&G O.P.P. had to respond on three separate occasions to 911 calls from a payphone outside Riley’s valu-mart in the Morrisburg Village Plaza.
It was through video surveillance from the grocery store that SD&G O.P.P. were able to identify a suspect, court heard.
A 911 call was also made from Seaway District High School on May 14.
In all but one of the calls, the phone was dialed and the receiver left on the top of the phone box for the cops to find. In one case, the boy provided a false name and said there was an emergency, court heard in a statement of facts.
In a separate incident, the boy was “antagonizing” a mentally challenged man, Crown attorney Raffael Beaulieu recounted. For his part, the boy derided the victim telling him “I’m going to break your f—ing lawnmower” as well as taunting him by saying “come at me you fat f—,” Beaulieu said.
The youth then smashed the victim’s front door with a hockey stick and chucked the blade of the stick at the victim. The blade hit the man, causing a two inch gash to the back of his head.
The teen’s lawyer, Douglas Grenkie, said the deferred sentence would keep his client “on the right track” and that he was making a “lot of progress” in redeeming himself.
In addition to the deferred custody, the youth is not allowed to possess weapons for two years and has to submit a DNA sample to the court. There is also a no-contact order between the boy and the victim.