Jail time for assault, attempted vehicle theft

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2022 (1565 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who assaulted another person while in RCMP holding cells and tried to steal a truck was sentenced to five months in jail Thursday morning.

Shane McKay, 23, pleaded guilty to a number of charges over the last two years, in Brandon provincial court.

On June 6, 2020, Virden RCMP arrested McKay on a separate matter and brought him to the police station’s holding cells, Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup said. The cells were at full capacity already and police had put him in a cell with another person who was under arrest.

McKay said the other man in the cell was his uncle and he would behave, but Lonstrup said he pushed the other person to the ground when police were leaving. He then started to yell and called the other man “racial names.”

The second man said he had never seen McKay before, according to the Crown.

There is already an issue with police departments having to hold people for extended periods of time, Lonstrup told the court.

“It’s a huge drain on their resources to begin with, and that’s when everybody is behaving themselves. Here, when there’s an incident, it threatens to take things into pure chaos. People are at risk,” he said.

Then, on May 28, 2022, the Rivers Police Service received a report a truck was stolen in the Riverdale Municipality.

Lonstrup said a man reported his truck was stolen sometime between 3 a.m. and approximately 6:30 a.m. and was calling from where he found it. At the time, he was trying to negotiate with the suspect to get out.

When officers arrived, they found the victim and McKay, who they arrested. The victim reportedly told police the theft was unsuccessful because there was barely any fuel left in the tank.

McKay also pleaded guilty to smashing a window at a residence in April 2021.

Lonstrup recommended a total sentence of five months in jail for the crimes.

“We know vehicle theft is becoming depressingly common both in and out of Winnipeg … we can be grateful this didn’t get worse than it did,” he said.

Defence lawyer Norm Sims said McKay wants to put the incidents behind him and get back into the community. He also has Gladue factors and the effects of residential schools in his family.

Sims suggested a sentence of four months in jail.

Speaking to the court, the accused said he wants to take responsibility for his actions.

Judge Patrick Sullivan said people in police custody have an expectation of security, but that “blew up” in the June 2020 incident. He also noted it was only good luck the vehicle was recovered when it was.

He sentenced McKay to a $100 fine, along with 60 days in jail for assault, 30 days in jail for breaking the window and 60 days for theft of a motor vehicle, minus 90 days time served.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_