Youth accused of violence released on bail

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This article was published 27/10/2023 (680 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 17-year-old from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, who is facing charges for his involvement in two violent events — including a homicide — in the community was granted bail in court on Thursday.

The boy made a successful bid for release with a bail plan to return to Sioux Valley, despite opposition from the Crown, who argued for the 17-year-old to stay in custody while his charges work their way through the court system.

The boy is facing allegations of being involved in a violent assault on a man in Sioux Valley in 2022 as well as carrying the gun that was used to shoot and kill 21-year-old Blaze Tacan, who was also from Sioux Valley.

Both the boy and his father are alleged to have been involved in both events. His father has pleaded guilty to charges in relation to the assault but is facing a charge of second-degree murder for the death of Tacan. The Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents the Sun from naming both of the accused.

Crown attorney Sarah Kok read the allegations in court. The charges against the boy and the remaining charges against his father have not been proven in court, and they both remain innocent until proven guilty.

On May 16, 2022, a Sioux Valley Dakota Nation security officer responded to a man who was walking around the community covered in blood. He was taken to the Brandon hospital for treatment. Later, in a statement to the Virden RCMP, the 50-year-old man said that he was playing a traditional moccasin game with a father and son. All of them were drinking, but it wasn’t until an argument ensued between them over winning the game that things took a bad turn.

According to the victim’s statement, he remembers being kicked in the face and then blacking out. When he came to, he was punched in the head before blacking out again. He told police that the last thing he recalls was being on the street trying to get help.

As a result of the assault, the man suffered a concussion, a broken nose, a cracked jaw, a blood clot in his neck and received eight stitches in his face.

The second incident occurred on Aug. 5, 2023, when RCMP were dispatched to a 911 call about someone being shot in the head in Sioux Valley.

Officers gathered information from witnesses, who stated that they saw the 21-year-old victim get into a heated verbal confrontation on the road between a father and boy. At one point, the boy pulled out a can of bear spray and then his father pulled a shotgun from a backpack that is known to be frequently worn by the boy.

It’s alleged that the father then shot the 21-year-old in the back of the head with the shotgun. The two suspects then left the scene and were later found by police hiding in the bushes. The shotgun was found wrapped in a blanket and buried underneath leaves and soil.

The 21-year-old victim was taken to Brandon hospital, then airlifted to Winnipeg hospital where he died.

Kok said that the Crown has multiple statements from a number of different community members and, although the boy is not facing any charges for the murder, she argued that releasing him back to Sioux Valley would pose safety concerns for the community.

“This has had a serious impact and [is] a large safety concern to the members of Sioux Valley, which is, of course, a very small community,” Kok said.

The boy’s defence lawyer, Jennifer Janssens, emphasized that her young client has no criminal record and argued for his release. She said that one of the witnesses’ statements said that the boy was heard saying, “No Dad, stop,” when his father reached for the firearm during the August incident and argued that the main perpetrator in both events was her client’s father.

The defence lawyer reminded the judge that the Youth Criminal Justice Act sets out a high threshold for detaining a young person, and that her client has lived his whole life in Sioux Valley.

Though Judge John Combs said that the allegation that the boy was carrying the same gun that was used to kill someone made the incident more serious, he said that his decision has to rely on the actual involvement of the boy, not the results of someone else’s alleged actions.

He acknowledged the community’s concern about the death, but ultimately decided that the boy should not be detained and granted his release.

“I do believe because he is a youth, that he has no prior record, that he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and is entitled to be under the community under stringent conditions,” Combs said, releasing the boy on conditions that include house arrest and no contact orders with numerous people.

The boy’s matter will next appear in court in Sioux Valley on Nov. 8. The boy’s father remains in custody.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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