Youth sentenced in second bomb-making case

Already on the National Watch List for making a pipe bomb, a Swift Current youth was sentenced earlier this year for yet another incident related to bomb-making.

Just one month shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the offences, the young man — who cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act — pleaded guilty to possession of an explosive substance, as well as possession of crystal meth and a pair of breaches. He attended court in May for sentencing, when he received a 12-month sentence.

The written reasons for the sentence were released this fall and recently reported on an online legal database.

Court previously heard that when the latest offences occurred, on Feb. 26, the youth was still under sentence for his last bomb-making endeavour, which saw him leave a homemade explosive device in the parking lot of the local library.

At the time, he said he was bored, so made the bomb as a “science experiment” to hear the noise it made, although it never went off.

In that case, he was sentenced to 45 days custody and 23 days community supervision, to be followed by one year probation.

In the more recent instance, court heard he was in possession of fuses, pyro powder substances, a gunpowder shell with a sparkler, various fertilizers, medical alcohol and a propane torch. Additional items of concern, mostly found in his room, included a book with instructions on making explosives, various short metal pipes, modelling clay, a battery pack, a box of glass shards, electrical tape, steel wool, lead shavings and wire.

The Crown — in asking for one year of secure custody and six months community supervision — filed photos which showed items that look to be improvised explosive devices. Defence asked for four months open custody and two months community supervision.

Court heard the teen had been involved in criminal activity since he was 12. He has family support, but has suffered losses of people close to him and abuses drugs and alcohol.

Pre-sentence reports noted he has frequently described himself as being bored, which he has blamed for not attending school and breaching release conditions. He was described as defiant and lacking insight into the danger of his actions with explosives, Justice Karl Bazin wrote.

Bazin added that the youth seems to be showing improvements since those initial reports, following house rules and believed to be avoiding substance abuse.

Bazin looked at numerous cases before opting to impose six months closed custody, three months open custody and three months community supervision to be followed by a one-year probation order. In imposing that sentence, the judge found deterrence as well as rehabilitation were key.