Man describes ‘rush’ of bus stop machete attack

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This article was published 17/02/2024 (657 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — A 19-year-old Kenora man said he felt a “rush of adrenaline” after he chopped a fellow Winnipeg Transit passenger’s leg with a machete, giving him a life-threatening injury described as a “near amputation,” in an unprovoked attack last year.

Cintiro Jeremy Loon pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault for the Feb. 9, 2023, attack near the intersection of Mount Royal Road and Ness Avenue. He was sentenced Thursday to three and a half years in custody.

The 52-year-old victim and his wife had been on the same Winnipeg Transit bus as Loon for nearly 30 minutes when all three got off at the same stop and Loon pulled a machete out from the waistband of his pants, Crown attorney Susan Helenchilde told provincial court Judge Rachel Rusen at a sentencing hearing Thursday.

“Without any provocation or discussion, (Loon) slashed (the victim) first in the upper body, and then on his right knee,” Helenchilde said.

The victim was not in court for sentencing. A police source at the time of the attack had described the victim’s wound as a “significant, life-altering injury” that was “near amputation.”

Loon fled in a taxi to the Polo Park area as another passenger gave the victim first aid and called 911.

Loon was arrested three days later. Police identified Loon as a suspect following a review of transit video and security footage. The victim’s wife positively identified him in a photo lineup.

Loon, who has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and has cognitive deficits, is a full-patch gang member. His record includes four convictions for violent crimes.

Speaking to a probation officer for a court-ordered pre-sentence report, Loon “pretty blatantly indicated he had an intention and a desire to hurt the victim, even though the victim hadn’t done anything to him,” Helenchilde said.

The pre-sentence report said Loon “glorified” the attack and indicated he had “felt a big rush of adrenaline for two hours after the offence,” Helenchilde told court.

“(Loon) characterized himself as a victim of a society that has failed him,” the report said.

“I’m not going to suggest that society hasn’t failed him, I think that is a fair thing for him to say, but that doesn’t justify what he did to (the victim),” Helenchilde said.

Loon has a family history of residential school involvement and grew up in foster care. Court heard Loon moved to Winnipeg because he expected to live with a friend, but those plans fell apart, and he became homeless.

“He reached out to Child and Family Services for support, saying ‘I need your help or something is going to happen’ and feeling that he is in really dire straits, and the support doesn’t come,” said defence lawyer Marc Zurbuchen.

Zurbuchen said Loon started using meth and at the time of the attack, had delusions the victim was following him.

Rusen said the jointly recommended sentence was in the “lower range” for aggravated assault offences, but that she was satisfied it was “fit and appropriate in the circumstances.”

Loon received credit for time served, reducing his remaining custodial sentence to two years. He was ordered to serve an additional three years of supervised probation, during which time he is prohibited from possessing firearms or knives. He is not allowed to ride on a city bus unless he is sober.

» Winnipeg Free Press