Man convicted of ‘revenge plan’ against Mountie

Having pinned the blame for a past conviction and a significant injury on an RCMP officer, a man came up with a plan of revenge that involved soiled underwear and murder.

Jeremy Barker was a federal inmate staying at Oskana Community Correctional Centre in Regina when he spoke of his plan to a fellow inmate between the beginning of May and end of June 2017.

That inmate reported details of the conversation to a parole officer.

The case went to trial and, earlier this month, Queen’s Bench Justice Richard Danyliuk returned with his decision, finding Barker guilty of uttering a threat.

“Irrespective of whether the accused could possibly have carried out this bizarre revenge plan, the evidence convinces me he intended to carry out the threat” the judge wrote. “The evidence persuades me that the accused intended his threat to be taken seriously.”

Danyliuk said Barker and the other inmate got to know each other during their time there, and that Barker eventually told the other inmate “his life had been ruined by ... one officer in particular.”

Referring to the second inmate’s testimony, Danyliuk said Barker told the other man “he had plans to take revenge on that police officer.”

“That plan involved a first stage: ruining the officer’s marriage,” Danyliuk wrote. “The accused told (the other inmate) he was going to obtain a ‘used’ or ‘dirty’ pair of women’s panties, break into the officer’s home and leave the panties there for the officer’s wife to find. The accused’s theory was that the officer’s wife would find the panties and conclude her husband had been unfaithful, then divorce him.

“Then, after the officer’s marriage was ruined, the accused said he had access to a firearm and that he was going to shoot and kill the officer.”

While the other inmate at first thought Barker was simply “talking tough,” he then considered the detailed nature of the plan suggested Barker was not just making it up. He testified he warned Barker it would lead to a life sentence, but Barker — who court heard spoke of the plan several times — said he wouldn’t get caught.

The witness told the court Barker claimed the officer had framed and seriously injured him, causing a significant hip problem.

Court heard Barker later acknowledged, during an interview with a Regina Police Service member, to having made the threat.

Danyliuk found the Crown’s key witness credible and accepted his evidence on what Barker said to him. The judge added the witness’ evidence was backed up by the statement Barker himself gave city police.

“What he says in that statement leaves no doubt that he uttered these words ...,” Danyliuk wrote. “He said, ‘I threatened a goddamn cop’ and ‘I totally said it’ and said he would ‘f--k him up the way I got f----d up.’ There are no nuances in those admissions.”

Danyliuk further found evidence Barker intended the threat to be taken seriously or to intimidate.

“From the evidence, the ‘bad blood’ the accused feels toward this officer was known by each witness ...,” the judge wrote. “The evidence of (the witnesses) vividly illustrates just how staunchly the accused clung to his revenge plan, ill-conceived though it may have been.”

Barker was sentenced to nine months jail and a 10-year firearms prohibition.