Tire slasher gets time served, $20K tab for damages

A man convicted in a tire-slashing spree was sentenced to more than seven months of time served in custody and must pay nearly $20,000 to Manitoba Public Insurance for damaging 83 vehicles in Brandon’s south end this spring.

Tristan McKay, 21, pleaded guilty in July to mischief over $5,000 and resisting arrest for his role in slashing tires during the early hours of March 11.

Police reports from frustrated community members with vehicles parked on streets — including Pine Ridge Crescent, Hawthorn Crescent, Tracey Street, Sycamore Drive and Magnolia Drive — began streaming in around 8 a.m.

“The victims here would have woken up in the morning and found that they were unable to drive to work, unable to attend to their appointments (and) found themselves having to kind of figure out ways to get their vehicles repaired,” Crown attorney Reid Girard said in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday.

“It’s difficult to really even conceptualize how many difficulties, stresses and inconveniences Mr. McKay and the other individual he was with caused that night and in the surrounding days.”

The other suspect was not charged in the offence because there wasn’t enough evidence to prove he was connected to the incident, Girard said.

In the hours following the spree, police canvassed the area for surveillance footage, which showed two suspects who were going from house to house, slashing vehicle tires and checking to see if any car doors were left unlocked, he said.

One of the suspects was wearing a red hoodie underneath a black jacket with red sweatpants, red shoes, a glove on his right hand, sunglasses and a possible face covering, he said.

Police indicated that the slashing of 15 vehicles’ tires was caught on surveillance, Girard said.

“Many other vehicles were parked at neighbouring addresses but are out of view of the cameras,” he said.

The Crown previously reported 85 vehicles had been damaged, but the actual total is 83.

Around 2 p.m., police were called to a vape shop on 18th Street for a report of a man, matching a similar description as shown in the footage, who was refusing to exit someone’s vehicle. After speaking with a business employee, police believed McKay was a suspect in the tire-slashing incident and went to his home to take a photo of him that was later sent to the Major Crimes Unit.

Officers said his identity matched the description of one of the suspects in the footage and issued a warrant for McKay’s arrest.

McKay was taken into police custody shortly after 3 a.m. on April. 15 when officers recognized him standing in the middle of the road on Van Horne Avenue in Brandon. When police initially tried to arrest McKay, he bolted and ran to his residence before barricading himself in his room.

A family member let police enter the home and officers were able to get inside his room. McKay was told he was under arrest, to which he replied, “No, I’m not,” Girard said. He continued to pull his arms away when police tried grabbing him.

Police then stunned him with a Taser twice before he surrendered.

McKay has been held at the Brandon Correctional Centre since his arrest and was denied bail in July. He has 294 days of enhanced credit for time served.

Girard and defence lawyer Andrew Synyshyn jointly recommended McKay face a six-month sentence for the mischief charge followed by two years of unsupervised probation with various conditions.

The Crown also suggested the offender pay a restitution order of $19,517.62 to Manitoba Public Insurance and spend another 45 days in jail for resisting arrest, which is a 15-day step-up from a previous conviction for the same offence.

“If the court was to accept the joint recommendation today and also accept the Crown’s recommendation on the (charge of obstructing a peace officer) … his time in custody subsumes the Crown’s position, and we’re not seeking any time (to) go forward,” Girard said.

“A message must be sent to Mr. McKay that this behaviour was completely unacceptable and that he can never do anything like this ever again,” he said.

Synyshyn said McKay doesn’t remember what happened that night. His pre-sentence report outlines a diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“In speaking with Mr. McKay, he agreed that he would not like it if someone broke or damaged his property,” Synyshyn said.

The defence also noted his client gets spooked when he sees police and he hopes McKay can work through his feelings toward police in counselling.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said McKay’s actions and his lack of empathy for the damage he caused is consistent with his FASD diagnosis.

“His disability does not excuse his conduct, nor does it eliminate the harm that he caused, but it bears directly on his level of moral blameworthiness on the extent to which the traditional notions of deterrence can realistically influence his future behaviour,” she said.

She also noted McKay has been assaulted and has assaulted others while in custody, resulting in some time in solitary confinement.

Hewitt-Michta accepted the Crown’s recommendation of seven and a half months in jail, but made the two years of probation supervised to provide McKay with extra support. The conditions of the order include participating in counselling, not possessing any weapons and keeping a 50-metre distance from the affected streets.

“For many members of the community, a vehicle is not a luxury, it’s a necessity, and the damage — no doubt — disrupted people’s transportation to work, to school, maybe medical or other appointments, family obligations and other aspects of daily life,” the judge said.

“Beyond the financial loss, the offence caused frustration, inconvenience and a real sense of violation among a large segment of our community,” she said.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com