Inmate gets four years for arson, damage in jail

With demands that included cigarettes, pizza and having two fellow inmates accompany him to the federal penitentiary, a 37-year-old Regina jail inmate went on a costly tear, smashing windows and starting fires.

By the time the smoke cleared, more than $24,000 damage — $27,000 with labour costs — had occurred on a range at the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre.

On Monday, David Charles Dumais had his stay behind bars extended, for arson, mischief and possession of a homemade weapon.

While Dumais’s lawyer petitioned the court for a two-year term, Regina Provincial Court Judge Clifford Toth opted to impose the four years requested by the Crown. Toth pointed to the significant risk Dumais posed to others at the jail when he armed himself, destroyed property and set what the judge called a “significant fire.”

“In a situation in a jail, people can’t leave,” the judge said. “By doing what he did, he endangered other inmates, he endangered staff. Who knows what will happen in a fire?”

Crown prosecutor Derek Davidson told the court the incident unfolded on June 26, 2017, just hours after Dumais received a lengthy prison term for armed robbery. Dumais was slated to be moved from the provincial jail to the federal Saskatchewan Penitentiary, but court heard he became disgruntled when he wasn’t able to get a straight answer on when that transfer was to happen.

At 6:15 p.m., correctional officers heard a loud crack from the second tier of one of the ranges, and subsequently identified Dumais — out of his cell for exercise — wielding a set of hair clippers fastened to the end of broom handle.

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Dumais was seen smashing a window, but correctional officers were prevented from ending the situation quickly when they noticed the man also had a shank, or makeshift knife.

The emergency response team was requested, but Dumais did further damage in the meantime, parts of which were caught by jail staff on a Gopro camera. In the video, played in court, Dumais is seen pacing the tier, hammering at windows and feeding a large fire on the hall floor.

Staff attempted to negotiate with Dumais, who alternated between apologizing and putting out various fires to setting new blazes.

Court heard Dumais made a number of demands in the course of negotiations, including an alldressed pizza and five cigarettes. The heart of his wants centred on his upcoming federal transfer, with Dumais demanding an immediate move and that two “bros” be transferred alongside him.

The Emergency Response Team (ERT) arrived at 7:30 p.m., using what was described as a “pepper ball,” or gas, to end the incident.

Numerous windows were smashed in the course of the incident, and one member of the ERT suffered a minor injury. The fires, which were also fed by a handful of other inmates via broken cell door windows, were ultimately extinguished by the sprinkler system.

Defence lawyer Dave Armstrong said his client was raised by a mother with substance abuse issues, and subsequently developed his own. Dumais has dealt with other struggles, including ADHD, but has found some relief in anti-anxiety medication and a conversion to Islam.

Armstrong noted his client was placed in segregation for 30 days as punishment for the incident.