Man accused of assault, uttering threats denied bail

A man accused of threatening his grandmother and later threatening his partner’s daughter with a knife was denied bail on Thursday.

The 27-year-old accused made his unsuccessful bid for bail in Brandon provincial court. He is charged with two counts of uttering threats and single counts of assault with a weapon, assaulting a peace officer and resisting arrest.

A publication ban on any information that could identify the complainants prevents the Sun from naming the accused.

The Crown opposed the man’s release, citing concerns about the safety of the public and the complainants in the matter, while defence said the accused denied all allegations.

Crown attorney Sarah Kok detailed the allegations, which have not been proven in court.

In October 2024, police received a report of suspected elder abuse. The caller told police she was concerned about the accused’s grandmother, who the accused was living with.

The 77-year-old grandmother gave a statement to police, saying she was “constantly on edge” and had been “living in fear,” as the accused was highly unpredictable, Kok said.

The man allegedly woke up one morning in October and started yelling at her because the kitchen wasn’t clean. Kok said he told his grandmother he was going to “smack (her) upside the head.”

“She was unsure if she wanted any charges or not at that point but wanted (the accused) removed from the residence for her own safety,” Kok said.

When police went to the home, the accused was immediately confrontational, aggressive and unco-operative, the Crown said. She said police told him he was no longer allowed to stay at his grandmother’s residence, and they would drive him somewhere else if he needed.

The man continued to act erratically and at one point got close to the officer and had his hand raised toward the officer’s face, “displaying assaultive behaviour,” Kok said.

Kok said this behaviour continued and police eventually “deployed a closed fist strike” to the man’s face to stop him and ultimately arrested him.

Despite the accused being unco-operative, police released him on an undertaking.

Police received a report on Wednesday about an incident that allegedly took place on Jan. 24.

Kok said police took a statement from the man’s partner, who said he told her he was going to “take care of her and wipe out her whole family.” He later sent a message to his partner’s boss, accusing his partner of defrauding the company and making further threats, court heard.

His partner’s daughter also provided a statement to police, describing another alleged incident from Jan. 28.

She told police she was with her mother, driving with their dogs in their car, and stopped to let the dogs relieve themselves.

They were near the man’s back lane, and when they got out, he approached the daughter and allegedly pulled out a kitchen-style knife, held it up toward her and threatened her.

Police arrested the man early Thursday morning.

Kok said the complainants in the most recent allegations live close to the accused and said they are “extremely fearful for their own safety.”

“There’s no reason for anyone to be making these kinds of threats or acting aggressively toward police officers,” she said.

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson said his client is denying all of the allegations and proposed a bail plan that would have him reside at a specific address in Brandon under a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.

He said he would abide by several conditions, including that he abstain from drugs and alcohol and not contact the complainants. He said the accused was not in a position to offer any cash security.

“There has been quite a bit of animosity between (the accused) and the family of his partner,” Dawson said, adding that the accused alleged they were stalking him.

“I do think there’s some reason to speculate as to how truthful these most recent allegations are.”

Dawson said the accused is Métis and has several Gladue factors. He said he was taken into Child and Family Services care at the age of 12 and remained with CFS until he was 21.

At 14 years old, he was diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, court heard.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said the allegations raised serious concerns about the safety of the people who had been threatened and demonstrated a “lack of impulse control.”

“The picture that emerges here … is of an individual who has spiralled out of control,” she said.

By releasing the accused on conditions, Hewitt-Michta said she feared she would be putting police officers in danger as well, as they would be the ones to monitor him.

The 2024 matter has been set down for trial in October, and the other charges will appear on an administrative docket later this month.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com