"Four years for a life" -- An appropriate sentence in my opinion

Four years for a life

The case of the Winnipeg teen who killed city taxi driver Antonio Lanzellotti when he crashed a stolen SUV into the Duffy’s cab in 2008 is a perfect example of how broken our youth justice laws are.

The teen responsible for the death, who raced through city streets at speeds of 139 km/h, got a puny two years in jail Friday, on top of two years time served. What a travesty of justice.

For this, Queen’s Bench Justice Lea Duval is the recipient of this column’s Eight-Ball Award, handed out to highlight some of the worst travesties of justice in our court system.

As injustices go, this is a big one. Duval had the option of sentencing the youth as an adult. She failed to do so, opting instead to give the offender the usual slap on the wrist that fuels the revolving door of justice in this country.

The reckless killing of Mr. Lanzelloti, 55 — a dad, a husband, an honest, hard-working member of the community — was a lightning rod in 2008 for the many people fed up with this pathetic justice system.

People expect justice for these kinds of gruesome acts. And once again, they didn’t get it.

Their politicians who drafted the Youth Criminal Justice Act let them down. And the courts, including Justice Duval, let them down.

I can’t even imagine how the family of Mr. Lanzellotti must feel to see that their loved one’s life was only worth four years behind bars.

We need reform. We need reform in a big way.

First and foremost, killings like this should always attract a lengthy term of incarceration for any criminal, whether the offender is 14 or 34.

The setting for a 14-year-old should probably be a boot camp or wilderness camp where the offender can be removed from the poisonous environment that created them. They should go to school, get exercise, learn skills and try to adopt a life that might eventually turn things around for them.

Sticking them in a youth jail for a couple of years and sending them back to the broken environment they came from is virtually a guarantee they will reoffend.

And that means there’s another Mr. Lanzellotti just around the corner awaiting the same fate.

I’ve not once heard a valid argument from the social worker types and the pointy-headed bureaucrats on how sending a very broken teen back to the people who helped get him into trouble in the first place is a good idea.

“Community sentencing” for people like this has proven to be an unmitigated disaster. The entire philosophy behind the Youth Criminal Justice Act has been a failure.

Look at this kid. He’s a multiple offender, has gang ties and breached his court orders so often, his probation officers didn’t even bother reporting them to police.

And now they’re going to do it all over again in a couple of years or less?

How did Einstein define insanity again?

I hope Justice Duval enjoys the Eight-Ball. The good judge certainly earned this one.

***

Justice Duval apparently has a lengthy written decision for us explaining the Lanzellotti killing case. But the judge didn’t release it Friday. On the one hand, judges and lawyers accuse the media of not reporting the full story of cases like these. Yet in this case, they refuse to release all of the details of a sentencing decision. Not very credible. When I get it, I’ll put it on my blog Raise a Little Hell at winnipegsun.com.

I completely disagree with changing the YCJA. It`s goals currently, are rehabilitation and successful reintegration and we need to keep those as goals for youth. Locking them up in prison is an emotional response to the crime and is only a quick fix. It is not a long term solution and fails to address the underlying causes and contributing factors to the crime. Punishments should not be proportionate to the crimes. A sentence needs to take into consideration, the mitigating and aggravating factors of an offender and the sentence must sufficiently meet the needs of the offender, in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration. If we simply lock these teens up, with no rehabilitation and release them with little assistance, they will likely resort back to crime. In prison, there are negative influences, drugs, gangs. pro criminal attitudes and behaviours and is a general, negative environment. Teens will likely become more hardened criminals and more involved in the criminal lifestyle. They will be negatively impacted by prison. Prison should only be used as a last resort and only to protect the public from an individual who legitimately poses a risk to public safety. Those with mental illnesses,  of aboriginal descent, drug or property offenders, should not be imprisoned unless it is needed, as the environment will have a more negative impact on them. Prison does not accomplish deterrence, prevention or reduction of crime. 

"Sticking them in a youth jail for a couple of years and sending them back to the broken environment they came from is virtually a guarantee they will reoffend."

EXACTLY! Which is why sending youths to adult prisons or sentencing them for adult sentences, would be even LESS effective. They will be even more negatively influenced by the prison environment, gangs and drugs and be released into the same conditions which contributed to their crime initially, with little assistance and be much more likely to re-offend. These teens need help and assistance. Community sanctions have been proven to be more effective in rehabilitation and reintegration than prison, which is why we need to implement them more often. 

Teen sentenced for killing cab driver in crash

No adult sentence for teen who killed cab driver

WINNIPEG - A high-risk car thief who was just 14 years old when he killed a Winnipeg cab driver with a speeding, stolen SUV will not be given an adult sentence.

Queen’s Bench Justice Lea Duval ruled late Friday morning the boy, who is now 16, will remain under the authority of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. She gave him the maximum sentence of two years closed custody, followed by one year of community supervision. Duval also exercised her discretion under the YCJA and gave the teen no credit for more than two years of time already served.

He was also given a 10-year driving prohibition. The youth pleaded guilty earlier this year to criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm for his role in the March 2008 crash that killed Antonio Lanzellotti.

The Crown was seeking an adult sentence against the teen, who comes from a prominent family of criminals with strong ties to the Mad Cowz street gangs. Several of those members were in court Friday morning.

Prosecutor Brent Davidson had requested another 23 months of jail, in addition to just over two years of time already spent in custody they concede should be given double-time credit. On paper, it would be noted as a six-year sentence.

Duval essentially imposed the exact sentence the Crown was seeking, but just under the guise of a youth disposition.

The teen – who could have been named if an adult sentence was imposed — was seeking just eight more months behind bars.

At his sentencing hearing earlier this spring, probation officials revealed how the teen breached an existing probation order 24 times in the weeks preceding the deadly crash. However, they used their own discretion and decided not to report any of the breaches to police.

Cheryl Dyck, who served as the boy’s probation officer, told court how the teen was originally sentenced on Feb. 8, 2008 on charges including car theft, drug offences and numerous breaches of court orders. The boy was given probation and placed on the most stringent youth criminal supervision program in Manitoba. His conditions included abstaining from alcohol and a nightly 10 p.m. curfew.

Dyck admits her department caught the teen violating his curfew on several occasions but never reported the incidents to police, who could have arrested him and detained him in custody on new charges. Instead, they upgraded his status to "high-risk" but allowed him to remain free in the community. Dyck said it’s not uncommon to ignore initial violations of young offenders.

"Once a pattern of non-compliance is established then we breach the client," she testified. The revelation prompted an outcry in the provincial legislature and a review of current policies and procedures.

On the night of March 29, 2008, the boy had been drinking and consuming drugs with a large group of youths loitering around a downtown apartment building armed with two stolen vehicles. The group scattered when they saw police headed their way. The boy was driving a Chevy Avalanche containing six other young offenders. He began racing a stolen Silverado that had the other seven youths, court was told. The boy reached speeds of 139 km/h — the legal limit is 60 km/h — and blew through two red lights on Portage Avenue before slamming into the taxi being driven by Lanzellotti at the corner of Portage and Maryland Street.

Lanzellotti, 55, died instantly. He suffered a massive skull fracture, broken ribs and legs and trauma to his brain and chest. A passenger in the cab was seriously injured.

The boy was ejected from the SUV and seriously injured. He initially denied any responsibility, telling police he was innocently walking down the street when he was struck by flying debris. He later admitted to being in the car but claimed another youth was driving. Police got him to admit the truth when DNA off the driver’s side airbag was a perfect match to him. The Crown agreed to drop a manslaughter charge in exchange for his guilty plea.

Dyck told court the boy has made great progress during his two years in youth custody but remains a medium risk to reoffend. She said his biggest obstacle is his own criminally entrenched family, although several relatives have since been deported to Africa.

"He has the ability, we believe, to learn from what happened and benefit from what we’re teaching him," said Dyck. "I think he’s way better equipped now to deal with the issue he’s going to face when he gets out."

The Crown supported having the boy serve the rest of an adult sentence in a youth facility because of the various treatment and programming options available to him. But Davidson said the limits of a youth sentence don’t express strong enough condemnation for the crime he committed.

City police Det.-Sgt. Kevin Kavitch also testified at the hearing about the high rate of car theft in Winnipeg at the time of Lanzellotti’s death. He provided statistics showing the vast majority of offenders are youths who deliberately try to engage police in high-speed chase, putting all on the road in danger. Kavitch said between Jan. 1, 2006 and the day Lanzellotti died, police in the stolen auto unit arrested 519 people, of whom 417 were young offenders.
Several other family members were in court Friday, including an older half brother who made gang signs and shouted obscenities upon leaving court.

Cabbie`s killer to ber jailed two more years

This headline is inflammatory and biased. It is just asking for a public outrage because the teen did not receive an adult sentence. It also implies the author`s opinion that this teen should have received an adult sentence.  It is also biased by not elaborating on the nature of the breaches this boy had while on probation. To my knowledge, they were relatively minor, and he should not have been charged for them. They definitely did not include him committing any new crimes. It should have been mandatory for him to participate in substance abuse treatment as opposed to simply ordering him to abstain from alcohol.

I completely agree with the Judge imposing a youth sentence. Youths should always be subject to the YCJA and should always be sentenced as youths. Rehabilitation and reintegration are the most important goals of youth sentences and it must remain that way. I disagree though, with the length of the sentence. This teen has already spent 2 years in custody and should have been given only 8 more months, as his lawyer suggested. The longer he spends in jail, the more likely he will become a more hardened criminal, and more involved in the criminal lifestyle. Longer sentences increase recidivism and decrease the likelihood of successful reintegration. I completely understand why this teen has been involved in crime. He comes from a family of prominent criminals. Those are not exactly positive role models who are going to teach this teen morals and values. The fact that he has gang ties, shows that he is either lacking attention or interaction from family members or is neglected or abused and therefore, feels a need for belonging and a sense of family, which he found in the gang. If you are surrounded by family members involved in crime, gangs, impoverished neighbourhoods filled with crime and negative influences and little opportunities, it makes complete sense that this teen became involved in crime. He was set up to fail.

This teen should have received 8 months custody and 2 years probation. He should have been required to take life skills programming, participate in a youth mentorship program, gang desistance, communication skills, problem solving skills, counseling and family counseling.     

Teen sentenced for killing cabbie in crash

A 17-year-old boy will spend the next two years behind bars and third one under house arrest after being convicted Friday in connection with the death of Winnipeg taxicab driver Antonio Lanzellotti.

The youth, now 17, was 14 when he was behind the wheel of a stolen Chevy Avalanche SUV that raced through a red light at Portage Avenue and Maryland Street and slammed into Lanzellotti's taxi on March 29, 2008.

Lanzellotti, 55, died instantly.

The teen, who can't be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was initially charged with manslaughter.

He pleaded guilty in December 2009 to a lesser charge of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm.

In return, the Crown stayed charges of manslaughter and possession of property obtained by crime.

Crown sought adult sentence

Crown prosecutor Brent Davidson lost his bid to seek an adult sentence for the teen, which would have meant a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Queen's Bench Justice Lea Duvall ordered the sentence to be closed custody, meaning the teen must serve the entire two years locked up.

'I'm sorry for, like, what happened. I wasn't thinking back then - wasn't thinking of my future.'—Teen sentenced in connection with taxi driver death

The teen, whose brother is a high-ranking member of the violent Mad Cowz street gang, was also not given any credit for the two years he has already served behind bars.

He has been in custody since he was arrested days after the deadly crash.

Given the opportunity to speak prior to the sentence being handed down, the teen told court, "I'm sorry for, like, what happened. I wasn't thinking back then — wasn't thinking of my future.

"I just hope the best for what happens today and move on from there."

The teen's father also spoke, apologizing to the court and Lanzelotti's family.

"I just want to say sorry to the other family for causing pain to them. I'm praying every day for them," he said.

Some people in court supporting the teen left the courthouse flashing gang signs as they walked away.

"I think he got a good deal," one of the teen's supporters said.

The teen's lawyer, Evan Roitenberg, told reporters he is satisfied with the result.

"I'm happy that [Duvall] came to the conclusion that a youth sentence was warranted," he said.

Two years custody for fatal cab crash
A 16-year-old boy behind the wheel of a stolen sport utility vehicle that killed city cab driver Antonio Lanzellotti has been sentenced to two years custody and one year community supervision.
The boy previously pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death. The sentence is the maximum allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Justice Lea Duval rejected a Crown application for the youth be sentenced as an adult.
An adult sentence could have meant the youth would spend six years in prison.
The boy was 14 at the time of the March 2008 crash.
The sentence is in addition to the two years the youth has already spent in custody.
The boy and six other youths were in a stolen Chevrolet Avalanche, racing a stolen Chevrolet Silverado pickup when the Avalanche blew through two red lights and hit Lanzellotti's cab.
The boy was one of 13 youths and one adult arrested in connection with the March 2008 crash.
According to an agreed statement of facts, the Avalanche was travelling 139 kilometres per hour at the time of impact.

Adult sentence denied
A teenage boy behind the wheel of a stolen sport utility vehicle that killed city cab driver Antonio Lanzellotti has been sentenced to two years custody and one year community supervision.
The boy, who was 14 at the time of the crash, previously pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm. His sentence is the maximum allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and is on top of two years he has already spent in custody.
Justice Lea Duval rejected a Crown request the youth be sentenced as an adult.
The boy was one of 13 youths and one adult arrested in connection with the March 2008 crash. The boy and six other youths were in a stolen Chevrolet Avalanche, racing a stolen Chevrolet Silverado pickup, when the SUV blew through two red lights and hit Lanzellotti’s cab at the intersection of Maryland Street and Portage Avenue. Lanzellotti died instantly.
The youth suffered a dislocated hip in the crash. When police found him walking down Portage Avenue he claimed he had been injured by flying debris from the crash. Later, while in custody, he admitted being a passenger in the Avalanche and identified a different suspect as the driver.
DNA evidence
The youth didn’t admit he was the driver until police confronted him with evidence his DNA was found on the steering wheel airbag.
The youth offered a short apology in court.
“I wasn’t thinking back then,” he said. “I was young, I was still 14 years old.”
Several of the youth’s family members were present in court for sentencing, including known gang members. Outside court one of the gang members said: “Four years, not a bad deal for a life.”
A sentencing hearing in April generated a firestorm of controversy after the youth’s probation officer testified he repeatedly violated a court-ordered curfew and skipped school before the fatal crash. The breaches were never reported to police.
“If he simply would have been able to comply with his probation order he would not have been involved in this incident ... (and) Antonio Lanzellotti would still be alive,” Crown attorney Brent Davidson told court.
The youth is the last of the 14 accused to be sentenced in the crash.

Teen breached probation 24 times, but is it something to be in an outrage about?

Making a mockery of justice -- Killer teen breached probation 24 times

A 14-year-old high-risk offender who caused this fatal collision in 2008 has repeatedly breached his probation, without any consequences.

The court records lay out the breaches of his probationary order in mind-numbing detail.

All told, a 14-year-old high-risk offender was able to thumb his nose at the law 24 times without any consequences, making a mockery of court orders and exposing a provincial policy to overlook breaches. The revelations surrounding the latest twist in the city's war with deadly car thieves now has Manitoba's justice minister on the defensive, arguing probation officials properly handled the high-profile case that ultimately led to tragedy.

‘We manage risk. One could say there should be no bail anywhere. There could be no parole federally. No government has moved down that road’ -- Justice Minister Andrew Swan

‘That should just be a no-brainer... No tolerance, no leeway, no discretion whatsoever’ -- Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen

"Frankly, if a kid is five minutes late for an appointment with a probation officer, or a kid because of his home life is late for school one day, I don't think Manitobans want that to be a reason for more criminal charges to be laid," Andrew Swan said Wednesday.

The teen -- who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act -- has pleaded guilty to driving the speeding, stolen SUV that killed city cab driver Tony Lanzellotti on March 29, 2008. His probation officer told court this week they failed to report numerous breaches by the youth in the weeks preceding the deadly crash because they regularly give young offenders plenty of discretion.

The Free Press has learned of at least 24 incidents between Feb. 15 and March 27 where the youth was in violation of a judge's Feb. 8 order -- including 18 days of skipping school and six examples of ignoring his nightly curfew. None of the violations was ever reported to police, which could have resulted in him going back into custody.

Manitoba Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen said Wednesday Lanzellotti might be alive today if the court order had been properly enforced.

"That should just be a no-brainer," McFadyen said. "Those ones have to be enforced immediately on the first breach. No tolerance, no leeway, no discretion whatsoever."

But Swan said he supports having a probation officer's "professional judgment" determine when a young offender is reported to police for violating a probation order.

Cheryl Dyck, the youth's probation officer, told court Tuesday how they will only report breaches to police if there is a "pattern of non-compliance." Crown attorney Brent Davidson, who is seeking an adult sentence of six years for the killer teen driver, suggested that will likely come as a surprise to many in the justice system, including the judges who hand down such orders.

"Have you ever seen a judge issue a discretionary probation order, where they leave it up to the accused whether they want to comply with it all of the time or just some of the time?" Davidson asked.

"I can't speak to the guidelines we follow," replied Dyck. Davidson later told court probation services gave the teen "enough rope to hang himself."

Dyck said offenders are often treated differently, depending on their risk level and criminal history. In this case, the youth began as a medium risk but was upgraded to high after his supervisors started catching him breaching probation.

Dyck said the boy's father initially called Feb. 25 to say he was regularly ignoring his curfew by fleeing the house after checking in nightly with probation officials. Dyck said they agreed to call a meeting but that never happened until March 26. By then, the youth had already been caught on five other occasions out past curfew and several times had missed school, which he was required to attend.

Dyck said he abided by his curfew on the nights of March 26, 27 and 28.

"He was at home and got back on track," she told court. On March 29, the boy called in to say he was home on time -- then fled the house as his father had previously reported. He began drinking and consuming drugs with a large group of youths loitering around a downtown apartment building armed with two stolen vehicles. The group scattered when they saw police headed their way. The boy was driving a Chevy Avalanche containing six other young offenders. He began racing a stolen Silverado that had the other seven youths, court was told. The vehicle the teen was driving reached speeds of 139 km/h -- the legal limit is 60 km/h -- and blew through two red lights on Portage Avenue before slamming into the taxi being driven by Lanzellotti at the corner of Portage Avenue and Maryland Street.

Lanzellotti, 55, died instantly. He suffered a massive skull fracture, broken ribs and legs and trauma to his brain and chest. A passenger in the cab was seriously injured.

The issue surrounding the level of discretion probation officers have in not breaching an offender was the hot-button topic in question period at the Manitoba legislature Wednesday. The Opposition Progressive Conservatives grilled Swan and Premier Greg Selinger over what they said was a symptom of the NDP's mismanagement of the province's justice system. But Swan told reporters the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, and how it handcuffs law enforcement and the courts in locking up bad kids, was to blame.

"We all struggle, frankly, with the Youth Criminal Justice Act," he said. "Every provincial government, whatever political stripe, has been calling on the federal government to take steps so that individuals who we believe are committing serious and violent crimes aren't released back onto the streets, which is what happens, unfortunately in our view, in too many cases."

Swan added he's asked his officials to look at how other provinces monitor young offenders on bail or probation, and if any further changes should be made to how Manitoba does it. Swan said a zero-tolerance policy on breaches, as the Tories have demanded, is not on the horizon. "There is not a single province in Canada that has gone down that path," he said. "We manage risk. One could say there should be no bail anywhere. There could be no parole federally. No government has moved down that road. The important thing is for our probation officers to manage the risk of people in the community."

Swan said over the past year, probation officials have brought in a new system to better monitor high-risk violent and repeat offenders.

"They will then receive more attention from probation services and make it more likely breaches will be found and there will be a remedy out there," he said.

The teen, who is now 16, is asking to remain in youth court and be given eight more months behind bars. Queen's Bench Justice Lea Duval has reserved her decision until later this spring.

As I have said in a previous post (Sentencing hearing begins for youth who killed cab driver), I completely disagree with giving this youth an adult sentence. Longer prison sentences have been proven to be no more effective than shorter sentences and for youth, they cause an increased probability of re-offending when released. 

Just because the media has discovered that this teen has breached his probation 24 times, does mean we need to be in an outrage. They are over-sensationalizing simply one incident. Probation in general, is a very successful practice and most individuals are successful on probation. We don't need to change the system. 

A breach may not be as bad as people may assume. It doesn't necessarily mean committing another offence. It could be as simple as showing up a couple minutes late for a meeting or to school. I do think youths should be given discretion. 

I still hold the position that prison is a quick fix and not a long term solution. We need to uncover the root causes of this teen's criminal behaviour and address those issues directly. This teen has his whole life ahead of him. To me, justice does not mean a harsher sentence. It means effectively addressing the underlying factors relating to his criminal activity, so to help him more effectively in the long term, by decreasing the rate of re-offending. Rehabilitation is essential for young offenders. I think his behaviour stems from the fact that the majority of this teen's family members and relatives are prominent criminals and have gang ties. This isn't exactly the greatest environment to grow up in. He has no positive role models, only negative, so how should he know any better? He likely has grown up not having or knowing any morals or values. I think a positive role model or mentor in this teen's life, could make a huge difference. 

For this teen, I would suggest 4 more months of prison, since he did breach his probation numerous times, combined with more intensive supervision when released. I would suggest family counseling, employment assistance, a positive mentor, group therapy, and drug/alcohol treatment.

We need to remember that harsh sentences do not reduce or deter crime, so really, what purpose are we using them for? We NEED (and I stress the word NEED) to deal with the issues and factors causing crime. 

If we could provide better living conditions and opportunities for the socially disadvantaged people, we could prevent crime significantly. 

If this boy had gotten help from somebody, parents, teachers, etc. to help him deal with his serious issues, that accident may not have happened. Instead of getting help, he was ignored and ended up harming someone. 

Family counseling sounds like a better option to me than prison does. This teen will eventually be released from prison, back into his dysfunctional family, and his crimes will simply perpetuate. By putting people in prison is like covering up a wound with a bandaid. It's a quick fix, but its not really solving the deeper issue or problem. If we are REALLY invested in helping this teen from re-offending and preventing crime, then we need to address his underlying issues.  

Sentencing hearing begins for youth who pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death

Sentencing hearing begins for teen over cab driver's death

A sentencing hearing is underway for a 16-year-old Winnipeg who admits to driving a speeding, stolen SUV that crashed and killed a city cab driver.

The teen — who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act — pleaded guilty last year to criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm. Justice officials stayed a charge of manslaughter.

Justice officials are seeking an adult sentence against the boy, who was 14 at the time of the deadly crash. The maximum penalty as a youth is two-years custody. The maximum for an adult is life in prison.

Antonio Lanzellotti died of massive injuries suffered in the March 2008 incident on Portage Avenue and Maryland Street which shocked and angered Winnipeggers. The teen was driving a Chevy Avalanche which contained six other young offenders. He was racing a stolen Silverado which also had seven occupants.

His sentencing began Tuesday morning and is scheduled to last two days. The youth has been in custody since his arrest.

Crown wants adult penalty for cabbie killer
A two-day sentencing hearing has begun for a teen who was behind the wheel of a stolen SUV when it slammed into a taxi, killing driver Antonio Lanzellotti.
Crown attorney Brent Davidson told court Tuesday morning he will be seeking an adult sentence for the teen.
The March 29, 2008 crash at Portage Avenue and Maryland Street sparked calls for tougher punishments for young offenders and auto thieves.
The driver was 14 years old when the crash occurred.
The now-16-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
Six passengers of the vehicle were charged with possession of goods obtained by crime, including a girl who made headlines for laughing and saying she didn't care that the driver died.

Sentence cab driver killer as adult: Crown
A 16-year-old boy who was behind the wheel of a stolen sport utility vehicle that killed cab driver Antonio Lanzelotti should be sentenced as an adult to six years in prison, a judge was told Tuesday.
The boy — who was 14 years old at the time of the March 2008 crash — has pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
The boy has already served two years in custody. The maximum youth sentence he can get is two years custody and one year community supervision.
“A sentence of three years is simply not sufficient to hold (him) accountable,” argued Crown attorney Brent Davidson.
The boy’s probation officer had testified he repeatedly violated a court-ordered curfew and skipped school before the fatal crash. The breaches were never reported to police.
Davidson said the boy has shown he is unwilling to accept super vision. “If he simply would have been able to comply with his probation order he would not have been involved in this incident ... (and) Antonio Lanzelotti would still be alive,” he said.
Defence lawyer Evan Roitenberg said the boy should serve just one more year in custody. “The young man who met with a probation officer and said it was nobody’s fault but mine has expressed nothing but genuine remorse,” he said.
The boy and six other youths were in a stolen Chevrolet Avalanche, racing a stolen Chevrolet Silverado pickup when the Avalanche blew through two red lights and hit Lanzelotti’s cab.

Probation officials overlooked breaches of court orders before cab driver killed
WINNIPEG — Manitoba probation officials admit they repeatedly overlooked breaches of court orders from a 14-year-old high-risk car thief in the weeks before he got behind the wheel of a speeding, stolen SUV and killed a city cab driver.
The admission came Tuesday at a sentencing hearing for the boy, who pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm for his role in the March 2008 crash that killed Antonio Lanzellotti.
"Probation services gave him enough rope to hang himself," Crown attorney Brent Davidson told court. "If he had just listened to what the court told him to do, Antonio Lanzellotti would still be alive."
The Crown is seeking an adult sentence against the teen, who comes from a prominent family of criminals with strong ties to the Mad Cowz street gangs. They have requested another 23 months of jail, in addition to just over two years of time already spent in custody they concede should be given double-time credit. On paper, it would be noted as a six-year sentence.
The teen — who is now 16 and can’t be named unless an adult sentence is imposed — is asking to remain in youth court and be given eight more months behind bars. Queen’s Bench Justice Lea Duval has reserved her decision.
Cheryl Dyck, who served as the boy’s probation officer, testified Tuesday how the teen was originally sentenced on Feb. 8, 2008 on charges including car theft, drug offences and numerous breaches of court orders. The boy was given probation and placed on the most stringent youth criminal supervision program in Manitoba. His conditions included abstaining from alcohol and a nightly 10 p.m. curfew.
Dyck admits her department caught the teen violating his curfew on several occasions but never reported the incidents to police, who could have arrested him and detained him in custody on new charges. Instead, they upgraded his status to "high-risk" but allowed him to remain free in the community. Dyck said it’s not uncommon to ignore initial violations of young offenders.
"Once a pattern of non-compliance is established then we breach the client," she testified.
On the night of March 29, 2008, the boy had been drinking and consuming drugs with a large group of youths loitering around a downtown apartment building armed with two stolen vehicles. The group scattered when they saw police headed their way.
The boy was driving a Chevy Avalanche containing six other young offenders. He began racing a stolen Silverado that had the other seven youths, court was told. The boy reached speeds of 139 km/h — the legal limit is 60 km/h — and blew through two red lights on Portage Avenue before slamming into the taxi being driven by Lanzellotti at the corner of Portage and Maryland Street.
Lanzellotti, 55, died instantly. He suffered a massive skull fracture, broken ribs and legs and trauma to his brain and chest. A passenger in the cab was seriously injured.
The boy was ejected from the SUV and seriously injured. He initially denied any responsibility, telling police he was innocently walking down the street when he was struck by flying debris. He later admitted to being in the car but claimed another youth was driving. Police got him to admit the truth when DNA off the driver’s side airbag was a perfect match to him. The Crown agreed to drop a manslaughter charge in exchange for his guilty plea.
Dyck told court the boy has made great progress during his two years in youth custody but remains a medium risk to reoffend. She said his biggest obstacle is his own criminally entrenched family, although several relatives have since been deported to Africa.
"He has the ability, we believe, to learn from what happened and benefit from what we’re teaching him," said Dyck. "I think he’s way better equipped now to deal with the issue he’s going to face when he gets out."
The Crown supports having the boy serve the rest of his adult sentence in a youth facility because of the various treatment and programming options available to him. But Davidson said the limits of a youth sentence don’t express strong enough condemnation for the crime he committed.
City police Det.-Sgt. Kevin Kavitch testified Tuesday about the high rate of car theft in Winnipeg at the time of Lanzellotti’s death. He provided statistics showing the vast majority of offenders are youths who deliberately try to engage police in high-speed chase, putting all on the road in danger. Kavitch said between Jan. 1, 2006 and the day Lanzellotti died, police in the stolen auto unit arrested 519 people, of whom 417 were young offenders.

Probation cited in fatal crash -- Knew of breaches by boy who killed cabbie
Manitoba probation officials admit they repeatedly overlooked breaches of court orders from a 14-year-old high-risk car thief in the weeks before he got behind the wheel of a speeding, stolen SUV and killed a city cab driver.
The admission came Tuesday at a sentencing hearing for the boy, who pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm for his role in the March 2008 crash that killed Antonio Lanzellotti.
"Probation services gave him enough rope to hang himself," Crown attorney Brent Davidson told court. "If he had just listened to what the court told him to do, Antonio Lanzellotti would still be alive."
The Crown is seeking an adult sentence against the teen, who comes from a prominent family of criminals with strong ties to the Mad Cowz street gangs. They have requested another 23 months of jail, in addition to just over two years of time already spent in custody they concede should be given double-time credit. On paper, it would be noted as a six-year sentence.
The teen -- who is now 16 and can't be named unless an adult sentence is imposed -- is asking to remain in youth court and be given eight more months behind bars. Queen's Bench Justice Lea Duval has reserved her decision.
Cheryl Dyck, who served as the boy's probation officer, testified Tuesday how the teen was originally sentenced on Feb. 8, 2008 on charges including car theft, drug offences and numerous breaches of court orders. The boy was given probation and placed on the most stringent youth criminal supervision program in Manitoba. His conditions included abstaining from alcohol and a nightly 10 p.m. curfew.
Dyck admits her department caught the teen violating his curfew on several occasions but never reported the incidents to police, who could have arrested him and detained him in custody on new charges. Instead, they upgraded his status to "high-risk" but allowed him to remain free in the community. Dyck said it's not uncommon to ignore initial violations of young offenders.
"Once a pattern of non-compliance is established then we breach the client," she testified.
On the night of March 29, 2008, the boy had been drinking and consuming drugs with a large group of youths loitering around a downtown apartment building armed with two stolen vehicles. The group scattered when they saw police headed their way.
The boy was driving a Chevy Avalanche containing six other young offenders. He began racing a stolen Silverado that had the other seven youths, court was told. The boy reached speeds of 139 km/h -- the legal limit is 60 km/h -- and blew through two red lights on Portage Avenue before slamming into the taxi being driven by Lanzellotti at the corner of Portage and Maryland Street.
Lanzellotti, 55, died instantly. He suffered a massive skull fracture, broken ribs and legs and trauma to his brain and chest. A passenger in the cab was seriously injured.
The boy was ejected from the SUV and seriously injured. He initially denied any responsibility, telling police he was innocently walking down the street when he was struck by flying debris. He later admitted to being in the car but claimed another youth was driving. Police got him to admit the truth when DNA off the driver's side airbag was a perfect match to him. The Crown agreed to drop a manslaughter charge in exchange for his guilty plea.
Dyck told court the boy has made great progress during his two years in youth custody but remains a medium risk to reoffend. She said his biggest obstacle is his own criminally entrenched family, although several relatives have since been deported to Africa.
"He has the ability, we believe, to learn from what happened and benefit from what we're teaching him," said Dyck. "I think he's way better equipped now to deal with the issue he's going to face when he gets out."
The Crown supports having the boy serve the rest of his adult sentence in a youth facility because of the various treatment and programming options available to him. But Davidson said the limits of a youth sentence don't express strong enough condemnation for the crime he committed.
City police Det.-Sgt. Kevin Kavitch testified Tuesday about the high rate of car theft in Winnipeg at the time of Lanzellotti's death. He provided statistics showing the vast majority of offenders are youths who deliberately try to engage police in high-speed chase, putting all on the road in danger. Kavitch said between Jan. 1, 2006 and the day Lanzellotti died, police in the stolen auto unit arrested 519 people, of whom 417 were young offenders.

I completely disagree with adult sentences for youth. Youth deserve to be sentenced as a youth. The YCJA's mandate is extremely important and relevant to youths, which focuses on more on rehabilitation and reintegration than the adult system does. 

Youths who are sent to adult prisons even if they committed a violent crime, are more likely to become more violent and dangerous and learn "new criminal ways." Prisons are commonly thought of as the "schools of crime" and this is especially true for youths. They are also at a MUCH higher risk of being assaulted, and have a higher suicide risk when in adult prisons. 

A youth who may lack education, suffer from mental health issues, behavioural problems, learning disabilities, or addictions, will have far less opportunity for rehabilitation programs in adult prisons. This is because these programs have much less funding in adult prisons and cannot serve every individual's needs when prisons become so overcrowded, like they are now. In adult prisons, rehabilitation programs and services are catered towards adult needs, not youths. This creates an especially large problem, as I believe if youth are going to sentenced to a prison term, it should be in a youth facility, where resources and programs are more tailored to their specific needs as teens. 

When placed in adult prisons, youth have even less of a chance of being rehabilitated than if sent to a youth facility. We need these individuals to be rehabilitated because someday, they will be released and it is in society's best interests. Adult prisons do not deter or reduce crime and often can cause more violence, hostility and anger within an individual. The length of a prison sentence has been shown to have no effect on recidivism rates. When released from an adult prison, youths are more likely to re-offend, likely with a more serious crime. 

There is no evidence that adult prisons are more effective for youth than youth facilities, or even better, community sanctions. So why the need to send them there? The only reason I can think of, is for revenge/vengeance which in my mind, is not sufficient enough. 

Housing teens in adult prisons is simply WRONG, regardless of the crimes committed. Placing them in adult prisons constitutes deliberate indifference to their well being and dehumanizes them. In addition to being costly in both time and resources, adult prisons essentially prevent reconciliation/healing and rehabilitation. 

Transferring the problem of serious youth offenders to an even more overwhelmed and much less effective adult system, makes absolutely no sense. 

Youth inmates are more likely to re-offend after being released from an adult prison. Ask yourself, is this in society's best interests?? I know what my answer is.

I believe that youths should be treated as such, not like adults. This boy is young and could benefit from rehab. He has his whole life ahead of him. He should be sentenced as a juvenile because at the time, he was a juvenile!! In this case, rehabilitation is a huge factor and we need to strive to understand the causes of this youth's criminal behaviour and deviance.

This boy has made progress in youth custody and doesn't have the greatest family background, as the majority of his relatives are prominent criminals and have gang ties. This boy grew up in an environment like this and doesn't know any better. He didn't grow up knowing any pro social values or morals. I think we really need to address the problems with his family, because I truly believe, that that is the root cause of his behaviour. He didn't have any good role models growing up, so how do you expect him to behave? Plus, he has already spent 2 years in youth custody. 

I agree more with the defence than the Crown, in that he should serve 8 more months. Personally, I would suggest about 4-5 more months, combined with probation. I think this teen needs counseling to help deal with his criminal family, family counseling (if all were willing), and a mentor to act as a good role model for this teen, help with education, employment assistance, and drug/alcohol treatment. I think maybe group therapy could be effective as well.

Dead baby's dad 'not normal', court told

Dead baby's dad 'not normal', court told

Lawyer pushes for psychiatric tests after verdict

The actions of a father who performed hours of artificial respiration and used electrical wires to try to restart his daughter's heart should be reason enough for the court to call for a psychiatric assessment, his lawyer said Thursday.

What Jonathan Hope did four years ago after discovering his infant daughter's lifeless body raises questions about his mental functioning, Joan Blumer said. She applied to have the court call for testing to see if Hope should be found not criminally responsible.

Hope and his former wife, Lisa Guerin, were convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life, following a two-week trial earlier this month. The pair were acquitted of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing the death of their daughter, Summer Hope, on April 30, 2006.

The girl died after drinking a fatal dose of her father's methadone.

On Thursday, Blumer made an application to have her client found not criminally responsible for the crime by reason of a mental disorder.

Hope performed artificial respiration for hours, then pulled a plug from the wall and scraped the wires with a knife and applied them to his 16-month-old daughter's chest to revive her like he had seen on TV, Blumer said Thursday.

"That ought to cause the court concern," she told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson, adding it was "not normal behaviour."

Blumer said the evidence is not necessarily enough to warrant a finding that Hope is not criminally responsible, but should be adequate evidence for testing to be done.

Wilson's decision on the application could set a Canadian precedent.

Hope was initially found unfit to stand trial in the case, but that was changed following a later examination by a court-appointed psychiatrist.

Blumer said a psychiatrist treating Hope before the trial indicated Hope had disorganized thoughts, mood instability and "profound memory lapses."

A second psychiatrist said Hope had cognitive difficulties and antisocial personality traits.

During the application, however, the judge said he could not see any evidence of cognitive problems or memory lapses while watching two recordings of interviews between police and Hope. One of the videos was deemed inadmissible in the end.

Wilson said none of the police officers, paramedics, firefighters, nor the medical examiner, indicated that Hope had cognitive issues or a faulty memory.

Outside of court, Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey said even though Hope's behaviour the day his daughter died may have been peculiar, it doesn't mean he's not criminally responsible in Summer's death.

He added it is highly unusual that Blumer is making this application after a verdict. He said the Crown will argue the evidence has to be more compelling for the judge to agree with Blumer's application.

Generally, a lawyer makes a not-criminally-responsible defence during the trial and not after conviction, but Blumer noted the Criminal Code stipulates the application can be made at any point prior to sentencing.

The application hearing will continue on Monday.

Dad of overdose victim has mental health issues, lawyer argues
Spending hours trying to revive his dead baby, including an attempt to fashion a home-made defibrillator, is evidence a Calgary man has mental health issues, his lawyer said Thursday.
Defence counsel Joan Blumer said Jonathan Hope should be examined by a psychiatrist to determine if he was insane at the time he failed to properly care for his daughter.
Justice Earl Wilson questioned whether there was sufficient reason to believe Hope may have been not criminally responsible at the time of his daughter’s methadone overdose.
Wilson said he saw no indication of the “cognitive dysfunction” doctors who earlier tested Hope suggested may exist, in the evidence called at his trial.
But Blumer said her client’s reaction to discovering little Summer Hope unconscious and not breathing in their Southwood-area home was proof enough.
“This was a man who was apparently administering artificial respiration on a child for hours after she was deceased,” Blumer said.
“This is a man who pulls a plug out of the wall ... and applied that to the child,” she said.
“That in my view is not normal behaviour.”
Wilson convicted Hope and his former wife, Lisa Guerin, of failing to provide the necessaries of life after their 16-month-old daughter died April 29, 2006.
The dad told emergency responders he awoke the next day around 9 a.m. and desperately tried to revive her until he spoke to a relative four hours later, who then summoned medical help.
During the course of his attempt he cut an electrical cord from a lamp, stripped the ends and tried to shock his daughter back to life.
Blumer said a brain injury suffered by Hope years earlier may have impacted his ability to appreciate the consequences of his conduct.
“That lead him to the bizarre things (he did) after the death of his daughter,” she said of the earlier injury.
She said Wilson should send Hope for testing to determine his mental state at the time.
The judge will hear submissions from Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey, who is opposing the application, on Monday.

Calgary parents acquitted of manslaughter in infant's methadone death

Parents dodge manslaughter ruling in daughter's methadone death

Parents acquitted of manslaughter in tot's manslaughter death

They may have poor parenting skills, but the mother and father of a Calgary toddler who died of a methadone overdose aren’t killers, a judge ruled Friday.

Justice Earl Wilson said while Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin failed in their parental duties by not getting their daughter medical help, they did not know she would die.

If fact, Wilson said, Hope’s conduct once he found 16-month-old Summer Hope not breathing the next morning he acted as a loving father would.

“He panicked and he tried desperately and for hours to revive her and he failed,” the Court of Queen’s Bench judge said.

Wilson acquitted both Hope and Guerin of manslaughter and criminal negligence charges in the April 29, 2006, death of their little girl in their Southwood area home.

He did find both parents guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life by not seeking medical intervention when the girl ingested a small, but deadly amount of methadone.

But Wilson said neither expected the tragic consequences of their parental inactions.

“Neither of these parents took any steps to obtain proper, or any, medical attention,” he said.

The judge ruled Summer took a sip from a coffee cup which contained methadone “backwash” from a dosage Hope took earlier in the day at a clinic.

Hope told police he drank the coffee to help wash down the taste of the drug and continued sipping it on his way home.

There was still liquid left in the cup when he arrived at the southwest basement suite he shared with Guerin and their two kids.

When he went to do some repairs on their car so Guerin could use it to drive to Rocky Mountain House for an exotic dancer job he placed the cup in their bedroom and closed the door.

Wilson accepted evidence from former cocaine addict Amanda MacDonald that when Hope returned he and Guerin argued about Summer drinking from the cup.

He said Hope failed in his parental duties by not doing anything to get the child medical care and Guerin was similarly negligent for not doing anything.

Before leaving, Guerin convinced Hope the child would be okay.

“Regardless of Guerin’s response, Hope was not incapable of doing something, anything, to get Summer to the hospital,” Wilson said.

Both parents remain in custody pending a sentencing date being set next Friday.

CALGARY- Summer Hope was too young to know that the drink she swallowed contained a fatal dose of methadone, but when she did, her parents should have done the responsible thing and taken the 16-month-old to the hospital.

But while Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin were irresponsible parents in not seeking medical attention, they are not guilty of manslaughter in the death of their little girl, a judge ruled Friday. Justice Earl Wilson also acquitted Hope and Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) of criminal negligence causing death, saying there was no evidence either parent was aware that drinking the opiate, often used to treat addiction, could kill the little girl.

"The prudent parent seeks medical attention. No real willingness to do that was shown by either parent," Wilson told court. Instead, Wilson convicted each parent of a lesser charge of failing to provide the necessities of life -- a ruling that drew an angry reaction from the godfather of the little girl.

Terrance Lynn said he was disturbed by the verdict, calling it "ludicrous" neither was convicted on the criminal negligence charge.

"She doesn't get to have a life," Terrance Lynn, a longtime friend of Guerin, said of his dead goddaughter.

"Jail time would be a necessity in this case," he said outside court Friday after the verdict was handed down.

During the trial, expert witnesses said the little girl would need only have consumed as little as a teaspoon of the drug for it to be fatal.

But the judge said he doubts many are aware of how lethal methadone can be to those who have never taken opiates.

Wilson outlined the actions Hope, the father, took after discovering his daughter was not breathing on the morning of April 30, 2006 -- performing CPR for hours to try to revive her -- and pointed to things Hope told police about his children.

He was, Wilson said, "a loving parent. His statements breathe his love for his children."

For Guerin, Wilson was not satisfied she had a "reckless disregard" for Summer's health and safety. However, responsible parents would have gone to the hospital, even if they were unaware the methadone could be fatal to their child, he said.

Although evidence indicated Hope had pleaded with his then wife to take him and Summer to the hospital, she decided to continue to Rocky Mountain House where she and a friend had work as exotic dancers for the weekend and Guerin had plans to meet a boyfriend.

Even after Guerin left, Wilson pointed out that Hope "could have walked or hitchhiked to Rockyview Hospital."

During the two-week trial, the court heard medical intervention likely would have saved the little girl's life.

Neither of the accused appeared to react to the verdict.

Outside of court, however, Hope's family said they were relieved to hear the decision. "We feel he got a fair verdict," his cousin Corrine Vooys said. "He loved those kids. He wanted the best for them."

In giving his reasons for the conviction, Wilson said he did not believe Guerin's evidence when she took the stand in her own defence and said she had no knowledge her daughter had consumed methadone.

Prosecutor Ken McCaffrey said the Crown will seek "significant jail time." The maximum sentence for the conviction is five years.

Guerin's lawyer, Adriano Iovinelli, said he was pleased Guerin was acquitted of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He will ask for her immediate release Friday when the lawyers and Wilson set a date for sentencing.

I completely agree with the acquittal of the two more serious charges. I don't believe these parents believed that their child would die and the father did try to revive her and perform CPR as soon as he discovered that she was not breathing. This shows his loving nature. Yes they should have taken her to the hospital and I agree with the conviction of failing to provide the necessities of life but they did not know she was going to die.

Mother tells trial she didn't know toddler drank fatal dose of methadone

Mother tells trial she didn't know toddler drank fatal dose of methadone
Mom pleads ignorance in baby's methadone death

CALGARY - The mother of a toddler who died after drinking a lethal dose of methadone took the stand in her own defence this morning, telling the court she did not know 16-month-old Summer Hope had consumed the synthetic opiate before the little girl died.

Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) testified she never said her daughter drank methadone, nor that it had happened when she left Calgary on April 29 for Rocky Mountain House where she had work as an exotic dancer and planned to meet her boyfriend while her husband stayed at home with the couple's two children.

Summer died on April 30. Toxicology results showed the cause was an overdose of methadone and the little girl had enough in her system to kill an adult.

Guerin, 30, and Jonathan Hope, are charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death, and failure to provide the necessities of life in the death of Summer.

Guerin testified if she had known Summer had consumed methadone, she would have taken her and her older brother to the hospital.

"We would not be sitting here right now," she said.

Her testimony contradicted that heard yesterday from Amanda MacDonald, a former friend of Guerin's who went with her to Rocky Mountain House on April 29. On Wednesday, MacDonald said she was in the southwest fourplex with the children as Hope and Guerin packed the car when she saw Summer emerge from the master bedroom with a red-orange stain on her shirt and a damp chin.

MacDonald told court Guerin exclaimed, "Oh my God, Jonathan, she just drank your methadone."

But Guerin said she never said such a thing and she didn't see any red stain on her daughter's shirt before she left.

"She had pizza sauce on her mouth, though," she said.

With her testimony, Guerin's defence concluded its evidence.

This afternoon, the court will start to hear final arguments in the case.

Methadone in tot's blood would have killed an adult

Methadone in tot's blood would have killed an adult
Methadone dose could have killed adult, court hears

Pathologist gives evidence in child's death

The amount of methadone in the blood of a toddler who overdosed on the drug would have been lethal to an adult, a forensic pathologist testified Tuesday.

But an autopsy also revealed 16-month-old Summer Hope had been taken care of before she died.

"At the time . . . she appeared well cared for," Dr. Craig Litwin told the court via video from Vancouver.

Litwin performed the autopsy on the girl on May 1, 2006 -- the day after she was discovered dead in a southwest fourplex.

Her parents, Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) are charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide the necessities of life in connection with the little girl's death.

Summer died of methadone toxicity.

The synthetic opiate is primarily used in addiction treatment, but also has painkilling properties.

Those prescribed to take the drug acquire a tolerance, but even small amounts can be toxic to people who have never taken it or other opiates.

Litwin told the court methadone affects breathing and heart rate, with both slowing or growing irregular when too much of the drug is taken.

Summer had 0.42 milligrams of methadone per litre of blood -- an amount Litwin said would be lethal in an adult.

"The amount of methadone detected in her system was very high," he said.

He was unable to say how much methadone Summer consumed nor how long after ingesting the drug she would have started to show signs of overdose.

Litwin echoed testimony given Monday by a forensic toxicologist who said there is a quick and readily available antidote that may have saved the little girl if treatment had been sought.

The pathologist said other than a few minor scrapes and healing bruises, the only other thing he noted in his autopsy report was a series of linear "dry, yellow lesions" on Summer's chest, consistent with an electrical type of burn.

"The presence of the injuries . . . suggest (an) electrical current was applied to and passed through her body," Litwin said.

Under cross-examination from Hope's defence lawyer, Joan Blumer, Litwin agreed he could not confirm if those marks were definitively electrical burns.

Court heard earlier that Hope used bare live wires from a lamp to try to restart his daughter's heart after CPR failed to revive her.

Meanwhile, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson ruled comments made by Hope to paramedics and firefighters responding to a 911 call about Summer on the day she died were voluntary.

Blumer had argued there was an appearance of authority coming from the two firefighters and three paramedics who attended Hope's home on April 30 and were questioning him about what happened, even though the answers would not help the toddler.

Wilson ruled that the paramedics and firefighters had a "genuine" interest in finding out what happened and were not asking questions as agents for police. However, Wilson said an interview between Hope and members of the Child at Risk Response Team -- a police officer and a social worker -- at a police station on the same day Summer died is not admissible because the Crown could not show how Hope got to the interview and therefore could not prove it was voluntary.

Wilson also ruled Guerin's comments made in a Nanaimo courtroom after she was arrested on a warrant last June are admissible.

During a brief appearance, Guerin told the judge in Nanaimo, "It's been four years. I'm sick and tired of it. I just want to plead guilty and get it over with."

This comment was similar to one she made earlier that day in the back of an RCMP cruiser.

Whether her comments were related to the manslaughter charge or other outstanding warrants that had been issued is unclear, Guerin's lawyer, Adriano Iovinelli, said.

Father on trial for manslaughter, tried to revive daughter after methadone overdose

Dad tried to revive daughter after methadone overdose
Father tried to revive daughter with shock from lamp cord
Father begged mom to take tot to hospital
Mother of overdosed tot told judge she wanted to plead guilty
Mother's emotional outburst halts Calgary trial on toddler's death
Dead girl's father tells police he loved her like a son
Dad used live wires on dead tot's heart

- After some time behind bars to sober up, a Calgary dad sat bawling in the prisoner’s box Monday as witnesses told of his desperate attempts to revive his dead daughter.

- Jonathan Mark Hope was tossed into custody by Justice Earl Wilson after showing up drunk for his manslaughter trial.

- Following a four-hour break to sober up Hope was brought into court from cells to commence his trial in the April 29, 2006, death of his 16-month-old daughter, Summer.

- Hope is charged along with his wife, Lisa Guerin, in the methadone overdose death of the girl in their southwest Calgary duplex.

- The couple also face criminal negligence charges for allowing the girl to ingest methadone, or knowing she had ingested it, failing to get prompt medical assistance and allegations they didn’t meet their parental duties.

- Two firefighters testified how they arrived at the Southwood-area residence to find Hope kneeling over his daughter.

- Capt. David Doyle said he and Steven Stewart arrived at the 6 St. S.W. home about 2:03 p.m. on April 30.

- “The person in the house was doing CPR and (artificial respiration) on the child,” Doyle said, of the man he later learned was Hope.

- Doyle said he checked on the toddler’s condition.

- “The child was cold to the touch,” he told Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey.

- “After assessing the child I didn’t think there was any need to begin (resuscitation efforts),” he said.

- “There was no pulse, the child was cold, there was signs of lividity — the child was deceased,” Doyle said, as a puffy-eyed Hope wiped away tears.

- Doyle said he asked how long it had been since Hope had seen his daughter breathing.

- “He said he awakened at nine or 10 and the child was not breathing then,” the firefighter said.

- “I asked him why it took so long (to call) and he said he was having trouble with his phone and once he started artificial respiration he didn’t want to stop.”

- Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Joan Blumer the witness agreed Hope seemed to be guessing about the time.

- He also said Hope was distraught.

- “He was visibly upset,” Doyle said.

- Under questioning by Blumer, Stewart added there were no clocks in view and no one questioned Hope as to whether he knew it was 2 p.m.

- The trial continues on Tuesday.

- As he frantically attempted to revive his dead daughter a Calgary man fashioned a home-made defibrillator from an electrical cord.
- Court heard Jonathan Mark Hope admitted he cut a lamp cord, placed vaseline on his baby girl’s chest and then attempted to shock her back to life.
- Emergency medical technician said when he arrived at Hope’s home he noticed a sliced electrical cord which looked like it had been attached to a lamp.
- Hope told him he had attempted to revive 16-month-old Summer with it.
- The following day Hope also told medical examiner’s office investigator that marks found on the girl’s chest were caused by him placing the lives wires against his daughter.
- Hope said he found Summer not breathing when he awoke around 9 a.m. on April 30, 2006, and attempted to resuscitate her.
- He did not tell anyone when he made his attempt to shock her heart.
- Emergency crews didn’t arrive until around 2 p.m. after a relative of Hope’s called 911.
- Both the father and his wife, Lisa Guerin, are charged with manslaughter in the toddler’s Methadone overdose.
- The couple also faces criminal negligence charges and allegations they failed to meet their parental duties.
- Jonathon had confessed that the marks on the infant's chest were made by him.
- He used a cable from a lamp in the bedroom.
- Meanwhile, a paramedic who arrived to save the child, only to find her dead, said Hope told him he didn’t call for assistance because his cordless phone had died.
- But the paramedic said that Jonathon also told him that he called an aunt to ask for help.
- “I asked him why didn’t he call 911 instead and he said the phone died again”
- He admitted to defence lawyer Joan Blumer he knew any information he received from Hope he would pass on to police.
- Blumer is challenging the admissibility of her client’s comments.

A couple knew their daughter may have accidentally consumed methadone, but did not seek treatment for the toddler girl the night before she died four years ago, court heard Friday.
In a taped interview with child abuse detectives several months after the death, the girl's father, Jonathan Hope, said he received his dose of methadone mixed with orange juice from the downtown clinic on April 29, but spit some of the mixture into his coffee cup, which he then took home with him.
He said he left the cup in the bedroom and closed the door before going to the local gas station to get a compressor to fix the flat tire on their car so his wife could drive to Rocky Mountain House. Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) had told him she had to work a paramedic shift there, but it was later revealed she had gone because she was having an affair with a man, Hope said.
When he came back into the house, he noticed an orange stain on 16-month-old Summer Hope's top and realized what had happened.
The former couple are both charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life in connection with Summer's death.
An autopsy showed the cause of the toddler's death was a lethal amount of methadone.
During the fifth day of proceedings, court watched the taped interview with Hope from Oct. 26, 2006 -- after toxicology tests came back showing Summer's cause of death.
After realizing that Summer may have drunk the methadone mixture, Hope said he asked his wife what happened.
"I said ... why weren't you watching her?' And then I said we need to take her to the hospital," Hope said in the interview.
Guerin said Summer had not swallowed anything and she had rinsed the girl's mouth out.
She also said it wasn't necessary to go to the hospital and shortly after left in the family's only car for Rocky Mountain House.
Several times Hope told Sgt. Robert Edwards -- a detective in the child abuse unit at the time -- that he said they should go to the hospital, both while the couple was still at the house together and later during cellphone calls with Guerin.
"I was begging and pleading with her," he said.
But she said the little girl would be fine and Hope believed her because she told him she had been trained as a paramedic.
"I really feel I should take her (to the hospital), but because she's a medic, I listened to her," he said.
He checked on the little girl a handful of times through the night and she appeared fine. When he awoke on April 30, however, the little girl had stopped breathing.
Hope began doing CPR and artificial breathing but did not call 911, saying his phone was dead.
He also used two live wires from a lamp to try to jump-start his daughter's heart.
"I panicked and for some reason -- this is really stupid -- I thought I could restart her heart using electricity. I was desperate," he said.
Hope noted Guerin was interested in partying and had been known to take drugs, including cocaine.
He added he was the primary caregiver for the couple's two children after Guerin said she was getting tired of staying home with them. She returned to work.
"I didn't like it because she went back to stripping," Hope told the two officers.
In the morning's proceedings, an emotional outburst from Guerin forced court to adjourn briefly while she calmed down.
She was sitting in the prisoner's box as a police officer outlined what he saw in photos of the home and Summer, after she was pronounced dead.
Edwards was about to explain the marks that appeared on the 16-month-old girl's chest when Guerin tried to flee the courtroom.
"I gotta go," she cried out as a sheriff prevented her from going out the door. "No, I have to go."
She ran out of the room crying, forcing the trial to take a recess.
Guerin returned after about five minutes but kept her head in her lap or bowed for most of the morning's testimony.


An emotional outburst from a woman accused in the death of her toddler daughter forced court to adjourn briefly while she calmed down this morning.
Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) was sitting in the prisoner's box as a police officer outlined what he saw in photos of the home and of Summer Hope, after she was pronounced dead inside the residence on April 30, 2006.
Sgt. Robert Edwards, who investigated the case on behalf of the child abuse unit, was about to explain the marks that appeared on the 16-month-old girl's chest when Guerin tried to run from the courtroom.
"I gotta go," she cried out as a sheriff prevented her from going out the door. "No, I have to go."
She ran out of the room crying, forcing the trial to take a recess.
Guerin and her former husband Jonathan Hope are both charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide the necessities of life in connection with the death of Summer.
She died from an overdose of methadone almost four years ago.
Guerin returned after about five minutes but kept her head in her lap or bowed for most of the morning's testimony, including a videotaped interview of Hope months after Summer's death.

Using bare live wires from a bedroom lamp and some Vaseline, a man accused in the overdose death of his toddler daughter attempted to restart her heart when he realized she wasn't breathing, court heard Tuesday.
After trying to resuscitate the 16-month-old girl with CPR and artificial breathing, Jonathan Hope dismantled a lamp and used wires from it and an alarm clock in an effort to revive the girl, it was revealed during the second day of proceedings against the man and his former common-law wife.
Hope and Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) are both charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life for their daughter. Summer Hope died in April 2006 of a methadone overdose.
At first, the death was not believed to be suspicious, but toxicology tests from the autopsy later revealed the little girl had ingested a fatal amount of the drug.
When Karen Colabella, an investigator from the medical examiner's office, first arrived at the southwest Calgary home on April 30, she took photos of the little girl laying on the bedroom floor. After placing her on the nearby bed for further examination, Colabella noticed marks on her chest and took more photos before continuing with a physical exam, she testified during a voir dire -- a trial within a trial used to determine the admissibility of evidence.
Later, because the death wasn't deemed suspicious, she bundled the child into blankets and put her in her car seat to take back to the office for an autopsy. The next day, Hope called her and explained the marks on the little girl's chest, saying they were from when he cut and applied the cord from an alarm clock, along with Vaseline, to try to revive Summer, Colabella said, appearing via video from Phoenix, Ariz.
Paramedic Ron Werbisky, who responded to the call at Hope's southwest Calgary home, said he noticed a lamp in the bedroom had been dismantled and pulled apart.
"He (Hope) indicated he tried to . . . defibrillate the child with the two bare wires," he said.
Summer was not breathing, had no pulse and was cold to the touch when firefighters and paramedics arrived after 2 p.m., court has heard.
Hope told emergency responders he realized his daughter wasn't breathing at around 9 or 10 a.m. and had been performing artificial respiration and rescue breathing, but did not call 911 because his phone had died.
"He said the child may have gotten into (Guerin's) Tylenol earlier," Werbisky testified.
Hope checked the little girl around midnight and again at 3 a.m. and she was fine, court heard.
Werbisky, two other paramedics and a police officer testified they noticed empty pill containers on top of the TV in the bedroom where the little girl was found. Also on the set was at least one empty bottle of methadone. Paramedics asked if Summer could have gotten into that.
"Mr. Hope said, 'No, it was out of her reach,' " said emergency medical technician Andrea Russell, who went to the house with Werbisky.

A fter showing up drunk to the first day of his trial for the death of his 16-month-old daughter, Jonathan Hope spent the afternoon in the prisoner's box, weeping over testimony about the day the toddler died from an overdose of methadone.
Hope and Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) have both pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life for their daughter, Summer Hope who died in April 2006.
The trial was delayed Monday when the girl's father arrived at court intoxicated, drawing harsh criticism from the judge who revoked the man's bail.
"He has lost his right to walk among us," said Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson, who delayed the trial's start by several hours so the accused could sober up.
When the trial began, details emerged of the father's vain efforts to resuscitate his daughter as she lay cold on the floor of the couple's southwest Calgary home. As Hope and Guerin sat in the prisoner's box, Hope's relatives and two firefighters outlined what they saw the day the girl died. Hope cried openly listening to witnesses recount events, while Guerin kept her head down, looking at the floor.
Outside court, prosecutor Ken Mc-Caffrey said the Crown alleges Hope allowed the situation to develop where Summer was able to ingest the drug, while Guerin was aware of what happened and left without seeking help for her child.
During a voir dire (a trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of evidence), firefighter David Doyle testified he arrived at the couple's home to find Hope kneeling over a child trying to resuscitate her.
When Doyle tried to see how Summer was doing, he realized there was nothing they would be able to do.
"The child was cold to the touch. There was no pulse," he said.
Doyle told the court he asked Hope how long it had been since he saw Summer breathing. He said Hope told him when he woke up around 9 a.m. or 10 a.m., Summer wasn't breathing at that time.
Doyle said he asked why it took Hope so long to call for help.
"He said he was having trouble with his phone," Doyle said. "Once he started artificial respiration, he didn't want to stop."
A second firefighter with Doyle said when paramedics confirmed to Hope his daughter was dead, he "broke down and started crying."
"He bent down and started hugging her," Steven Stewart said.
Firefighters and paramedics responded to a 911 call that had been made by Hope's relative, Corrine Vooys, who was called to the home by her cousin, Hope's mother, in Edmonton. She and her husband, Cornelis Vooys, arrived to find Hope and Guerin's two-year-old son crying and Hope in a bedroom kneeling over. Corrine called 911 and spoke to a dispatcher for a couple of minutes before the cordless phone died. She also tried to resuscitate the little girl.
Corrine said she heard wheezing and, at first, assumed it was the child's laboured breathing. "The air coming out was just what Jonathan or I had put into her," she told the court. "She was not breathing."
Under cross-examination by Hope's lawyer Joan Blumer, Corrine agreed that Hope's mental function had diminished following a motorcycle accident some years ago.
Cornelis also said Hope was not always clear in his thinking.
Almost four years have passed since Summer died. Initially, it was believed she was a victim of sudden infant death syndrome. Months later, results from toxicology tests showed she had ingested methadone.

A fter her arrest in B.C. last year on a manslaughter warrant, a Calgary mother accused in the overdose death of her toddler daughter told a judge she wanted to plead guilty and move on, court heard Thursday.
In a brief appearance in June 2009, Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) asked to address the provincial court in Nanaimo after being advised she had been arrested on a warrant from Calgary on charges of manslaughter.
"It's been four years. I'm sick and tired of it. I just want to plead guilty and get it over with," Guerin told the court last year.
Judge Allan Gould said she "shouldn't jump in and plead guilty to manslaughter," advising her he could stand the matter down to give Guerin a chance to talk to duty counsel before appearing again the next day.
"Yeah, I don't want a bail hearing," she later said. "I just want it to be over and done with."
Court heard a recording of Guerin's appearance in Nanaimo on the fourth day of proceedings against her and her former common-law husband, Jonathan Hope. The two are charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life to their daughter, 16-month-old Summer Hope.
Summer died in April 2006 after ingesting a lethal dose of methadone.
A warrant was issued for Guerin's arrest on the manslaughter charge after she failed to appear for a preliminary hearing in Calgary last year.
During a voir dire -- a trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of evidence -- in front of Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson, Const. Simon Bentley of the Nanaimo RCMP detachment testified he also heard Guerin say she wanted to plead guilty.
Bentley had arrested Guerin at a home in Nanaimo on June 23, 2009, after the RCMP detachment received information from the Calgary Police Service about the manslaughter warrant and information that she was in their city.
He found Guerin sitting on a bed in the back bedroom of the home owned by her boyfriend's mother.
Guerin told police her name was Sandy, but Bentley detected an accent -- Guerin is of British descent -- and said he believed she was Guerin and was under arrest on a warrant out of Calgary for manslaughter.
He read her her rights and Guerin said she wanted to contact a lawyer.
"They don't want me in Alberta. I want to deal with this in B.C.," Bentley testified Guerin told him shortly after the arrest.
Later that day, during the two-minute drive between the detachment and the courthouse, Guerin was talking to herself and Bentley heard her say, "I just want to plead guilty."
Bentley testified he then told her she was going in front of a judge and she would have the opportunity to say something.
Guerin's lawyer, Adriano Iovinelli, asked Bentley -- who appeared on video from the courthouse in Nanaimo -- if he was aware Guerin was wanted on several warrants at the time of her arrest, including those for failure to comply, fraud, obstruction and failure to appear for court.
"I understood Calgary was looking for her on other matters, yes," Bentley said.
Const. Michael Carey went to the house with Bentley as backup and testified that Guerin appeared sober and aware of why she was being arrested.
She appeared to understand her charter rights and said she wished to speak to counsel, he said, also appearing via video.
At the detachment, Bentley set up a phone call with Guerin's lawyer in Calgary. He was in court, but she spoke with his assistant and was advised to call back in 30 minutes. She was unable to speak to her lawyer during the second phone call.
She was then taken to the courthouse for her appearance.
Guerin was later returned to Calgary.

Sitting in the back of a police cruiser, the father of a toddler who died of a drug overdose told a Calgary police officer his daughter was the best thing to happen in his life, court heard Wednesday.
"I loved her like a son. I wanted another son," Jonathan Hope told the officer sitting in the front seat of the cruiser. "I know you shouldn't have a favourite, but she was the best thing to happen to me."
Hope had been sitting in the back of the patrol car -- but was not under arrest at the time, court heard -- as police and the medical examiner were inside the southwest home he shared with his common-law wife, trying to piece together the events surrounding the death of 16-month-old Summer Hope on April 30, 2006.
Initially, it was believed the child was a victim of sudden infant death syndrome after she failed to wake up that morning. Hope told officers he tried for several hours to resuscitate her using CPR and artificial respiration. Later, toxicology results showed Summer had ingested a fatal dose of methadone.
Both Hope and the girl's mother, Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope), are charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life for the girl.
Primary investigator Det. Theresa Garagan told the court there were some indications that something wasn't right at the house that day, noting a generally healthy child had passed away, that there was a knife on the bed in the master bedroom and Hope was behaving in a way that was unusual for someone who had just lost a child.
"He didn't seem as upset as I would expect. He seemed not emotional at the scene," Garagan said.
Members of the Child at Risk Response Team were called to investigate over concerns for the safety of the couple's two-year-old son.
In a taped interview between the father and Const. Melissa Wheatley, a social worker with child and family services, Hope said he didn't believe the coroner when she told him Summer had been dead for some time that day.
"A few times I stopped (CPR) and Summer was totally breathing on her own," he said, mimicking the sound of shallow breaths.
He appeared distraught in the video as he asked how this could have happened to his daughter.
"I asked God to take me instead," he said. "I never wanted a daughter, but then she came and she was just so special."
In the prisoner's box, seated next to Guerin, Hope cried as he listened to himself speak on the video.
He said he had been taking care of the two children over the past few months -- spending all day with them -- while Guerin worked.
On April 29, Guerin was mad when he got home from receiving his methadone dose because she needed to get to work in Rocky Mountain House -- a two-hour drive away.
In the video interview, Hope said Guerin was a paramedic trained in mine rescues, but that she also worked as an exotic dancer at the French Maid in Calgary.
Before she left, she told Hope that Summer had got into her prescription medication, but she had made sure the girl spit it out and then rinsed out her mouth.
Hope checked on Summer at midnight and 2 a.m. and she was still breathing, he said during the interview.
The next day, when he woke up, he realized she wasn't breathing. He began CPR.
He didn't call 911 because the cordless phone was dead, he said.

Court - The case against two Calgary parents accused in the death of their toddler daughter almost four years ago is slated to begin today.
Jonathan and Lisa Hope, also known as Lisa Guerin, were arrested and subsequently charged months after their daughter died while sleeping in April 2006.
Summer Hope was 16 months old.
At the time, it was believed Summer was a victim of sudden infant death syndrome.
But toxicology tests later showed she had overdosed on methadone.
An autopsy revealed the drug in her system.
It is alleged the little girl accidentally ingested the legal dose of the drug belonging to her father, Jonathan.
Jonathan was charged in December 2006.
Lisa was arrested in Redcliff, just outside of Medicine Hat, a few days later.
Last summer, Calgary police issued a warrant for Lisa after she did not appear at a preliminary hearing.
She was arrested on Vancouver Island in June and appeared in a Nanaimo courtroom before it was decided she would be returned to Alberta to face the charges.
The case has been scheduled for two weeks in a Calgary court.