Man charged in BB gun shootings granted bail

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This article was published 12/03/2024 (917 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An 18-year-old man facing charges for shooting out the windows of eight vehicles in Brandon, as well as a window at Betty Gibson School, was granted bail after a judge reserved his decision to learn more about the BB gun that was allegedly used.

Zackarie St. Pierre-Scott’s bid for bail began last Friday. Judge Patrick Sullivan decided to postpone his decision until Monday, asking the Crown and defence lawyers to provide more information about the danger posed by the BB gun.

St. Pierre-Scott is facing 29 charges for multiple counts of mischief, discharging a firearm and using an imitation firearm. The BB gun that is alleged to have been used is currently being tested to determine the gun’s velocity, but the results of that testing have not yet come back.

During the bail hearing on Friday, the Crown argued against the 18-year-old’s release on grounds that he was likely to reoffend and that his release from custody would shake the public’s confidence in the justice system. Defence, however, highlighted the uncertainty about the type of gun used to shoot out the windows.

At Monday’s hearing, Crown attorney Sarah Kok presented the court with the specifications of the gun alleged to have been used and submitted supporting documents about the gun being able to pass a “pig’s-eye test,” which courts often rely on to determine the capabilities of a weapon to cause death or bodily harm.

Kok argued that the gun meets the definition of a firearm under the Criminal Code and that it could cause bodily harm.

“Irrespective of the fact that we don’t have the firearms conclusion back — we don’t know if this is going to meet the definition of a firearm or not — it has caused serious damage to different vehicles and it penetrated the window of a school,” the prosecutor said. “One can only imagine that if a gun had the velocity and the power to be able to penetrate multiple windowpanes, one would suspect this would have the potential of causing bodily harm.”

St. Pierre-Scott’s defence lawyer, articling student Jordon Hildebrandt, argued that context was important to consider and that the weapon was aimed at property and a building, not people.

“I’m going to suggest that this is more akin to a person walking around with a slingshot shooting vehicles, than it is a person firing an actual weapon into a group of people,” Hildebrandt said. “Under that set of circumstances, the expectation of harm is significantly diminished relative to an actual firearm, pistol or handgun being shot at people.”

He also argued that it was uncertain if the gun’s CO2 canister was full at the time and could achieve the velocities that the Crown argued it would be able to.

Sullivan thanked both lawyers for their efforts in preparing additional arguments and research. He said that because the Crown had argued for St. Pierre-Scott’s detention in custody based on the public’s perception of his release, he had to consider the gravity of the offence. And in his mind, the seriousness of the offence hinged on what exactly the weapon was.

Ultimately, while Sullivan said the offences are serious and that a BB gun is a dangerous item, it is not the same as a firearm like a pistol.

The 18-year-old was granted bail to live at a Child and Family Services house in Brandon, with court-ordered conditions to not attend the area where the vehicles were damaged or Betty Gibson School. He was also ordered to observe a curfew.

St. Pierre-Scott’s matter will next appear in court on April 14.

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