Man charged in violent robbery denied bail

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This article was published 26/01/2024 (602 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man facing charges for a violent robbery last year, as well as numerous break-ins to properties around Brandon, was denied bail in court on Thursday.

Paul Houle made an unsuccessful bid for bail in provincial court after recently being acquitted of dangerous driving causing death charges from 2019. The Crown opposed Houle’s release, arguing that he needed to be kept in custody for the protection of the public and for him to show up at his court appearances.

Crown attorney Jeannelle Allard read the evidence for the charges in court. The charges against Houle have not been proven in court and he remains innocent until proven guilty.

On March 3, 2023, a man entered a unit in the City Centre Hotel with a CO2 pistol and began demanding that the occupants, a man and a woman, give him everything they had. He struck the male occupant in the left eye with the pistol, causing his eye to bleed and swell shut.

Then the man picked up a pair of scissors and began stabbing the woman occupant. Both victims were able to escape and call 911.

The man fled and police arrested him after locating him running on Seventh Street. During a search after his arrest, police found a small bag of methamphetamine in a pocket of his pants.

The man was also charged after two break-in incidents — one in 2020 and one in 2022.

In June 2020, police were called after a resident reported a break-in at his Sixth Street home. The victim told police that a man had smashed his windows with a machete while attempting to break in.

The man fled but was later arrested by police. The cost of the repairs to the home was estimated at more than $8,500.

In August 2022, the man was arrested again, this time for allegedly breaking into a detached garage. Items had been stolen from a vehicle that had been parked in the garage and the man was identified from fingerprints the forensic unit had lifted at the scene.

Allard said Houle’s matter in King’s Bench had to be rescheduled twice because of Houle failing to show up and argued that keeping him in custody was the only way to ensure he would attend his scheduled court appearances.

“He will not come to court, despite being told he needs to (and) the only way to get him to court and have any of these files dealt with is to keep him in custody,” the prosecutor said. “He is a significant safety concern to the public, as well as his victims.”

Houle’s defence lawyer, Greg Sacks, told the court he disagreed with the Crown’s statement that keeping Houle in custody was necessary for him to attend court. He said he had good contact with his client, who told him he couldn’t attend court because his ride had fallen through.

Sacks presented a bail plan that would have Houle living with his sister at a home on Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta agreed with the Crown’s concerns about Houle’s likelihood to re-offend. She said she was concerned with the seriousness of the allegations Houle is facing and denied him bail, citing the protection of the public.

Earlier this month, Houle was convicted of driving while prohibited and is awaiting sentencing. Both Houle’s King’s Bench matter and provincial matters will return to the courts on Feb. 20.

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