Troubles plague accused shooter

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This article was published 25/10/2016 (3653 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man accused of shooting another man in the torso is a Nigerian immigrant who was a preacher in his home country and came to Canada to study at university.

How he came to live in Brandon where he got caught up in illegal drugs was a tale shared by his lawyer during sentencing for prior charges.

“His time in Nigeria illuminates a lot about him as an individual, and what this young man has been through,” lawyer Jonathan Pinx said.

Details of his background came as Tsolaye Wisdom Okorodudu, 24, was sentenced in Brandon provincial court on Monday for cocaine possession and breaching a release order.

Crown attorney Christina Cheater said police were conducting a drug investigation on May 21, 2015 when they observed Okorodudu come and go from his home on the 1100 block of First Street to meet two separate vehicles.

Police believed he was dealing drugs and arrested him and found he had 14 individually wrapped baggies of cocaine. In total, they weighed 14.2 grams, worth about $1,400 on the street.

Okorodudu was released, but caught on Dec. 9, 2015 in breach of his court order when police raided his home. In the residence, police found a gram of marijuana and a number of cellphones, neither of which he was supposed to have while on bail. Police also seized $7,620 in cash.

On Monday, Judge John Combs fined Okorodudu $500 for having the cocaine, plus $300 for breaching his order.

Pinx told court that Okorodudu is originally from Nigeria and came to Canada with his family in December 2013.

“To say Mr. Okorodudu had a rough life would be an understatement,” Pinx said. Okorodudu was an outstanding young student in Nigeria, but his home life there was troubled.

His father abused him, along with his siblings and his mother before deserting the family when Okorodudu was nine years old.

As the eldest male, Okorodudu became head of the household and responsible for making all the major decisions for his family.

At 16, he was responsible for burying his estranged father when he was murdered.

Okorodudu’s younger brother is albino and in Africa he was targeted for human sacrifice and bullied, Pinx said. His father’s family wouldn’t help lift the family out of financial issues because they wouldn’t hand the brother over for sacrifice.

Despite those troubles, Okorodudu went to a prestigious boarding school in Nigeria where he became president of the science club.

However, his brother was subjected to worse bullying and developed mental illness after Okorodudu left for school. Pinx said Okorodudu blames himself for not being around to protect his brother.

The family immigrated to Canada, in part to obtain better care for Okorodudu’s brother than he could receive in his home country.

For Okorodudu, it was a chance to pursue his education.

Pinx said his client was admitted to the University of Regina, but has been waiting to become a permanent resident before attending because international students pay higher tuition.

Okorodudu had attended church five times per week at one point, Pinx said, and in Nigeria he’d been an anointed priest who preached to congregations in Africa.

But once in Brandon, he fell in with the wrong crowd.

Forced to leave home because his mentally ill brother would be violent with him, Okorodudu stayed with friends who introduced him to drugs and he developed an addiction.

Now — given his convictions on the drug and breach charges — he and his family face the possibility of being deported.

Okorodudu has temporary resident status, and Pinx said his family made application on the same immigration form so they too are at risk of deportation.

However, Okorodudu would not be deported prior to dealing with a charge of attempted murder laid in connection with the Sept. 24 shooting that sent a man to hospital.

That allegation against Okorodudu, for which he currently remains in custody, hasn’t been proven and he’s presumed innocent.

A man survived a bullet to his torso during the shooting on the 300 block of 10th Street. It was one of four recent shootings in Brandon in which two people received wounds, and two houses were shot at.

Court documents allege that during the 10th Street incident another man had a gun pointed at him and was threatened.

Among those who submitted reference letters to the court in support of Okorodudu for his sentencing on Monday was a woman who owns a clothing store on the same block where the shooting happened.

That woman is the long-term domestic partner of the man who had the gun pointed at him.

Other friends submitted letters that described Okorodudu as an honest person who is a talented artist and musician.

Pinx said Okorodudu has the support of his family and local church members, many of which were present in court.

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