COVID-19 might derail dangerous-offender hearing

A dangerous-offender hearing slated to begin next month might need to be rescheduled due to COVID -19 issues.

Mark Okute (aka Lecaine) was convicted a year ago of cutting his 23-year-old son’s throat during an alcohol-fuelled dispute in a Regina home. The Crown had sought a conviction for attempted murder, but Justice Darin Chow instead found Okute guilty of the lesser and included charge of aggravated assault.

The Crown is now pressing ahead with an attempt to have Okute declared a dangerous offender. A hearing was to begin June 8 at Regina Court of Queen’s Bench, but the matter might become one of a number of cases to be pushed back because of COVID-19.

The case was addressed on Tuesday at Queen’s Bench, with those involved appearing by phone, including Okute from the correctional centre where he is being remanded. Chow said he is reluctant to adjourn the matter, but wanted to know where Crown and defence counsel are at.

Defence lawyer Jill Drennan said the biggest problem for Okute revolves around obtaining a rebuttal of a court-ordered psychiatric assessment of Okute, carried out for the hearing.

While details of the findings have not yet been divulged in court, such assessments typically provide the judge with an offender’s background and behaviours as well as a recommendation on whether an offender might be successfully controlled in the community in the future.

Drennan told the court the COVID-19 situation has thrown a wrench into her attempts to get a rebuttal from a forensic psychiatrist.

“(He) wasn’t able to proceed with a number of the assessments that he was doing for our office in terms of meeting with clients and what not due to the COVID-19 issues and accessing people at the jail,” she said.

Until she gets the rebuttal assessment, Drennan said she won’t be prepared to proceed with the hearing.

Crown prosecutor Greg Chovin told the court he will need to know soon whether the hearing will proceed as planned because he needs to ensure witnesses are lined up.

But he added COVID-19 might cause problems for him too, given the likely need for witnesses to appear by video. He said finding places and technology to allow that might be problematic.

The case involves an August 2017 incident in which Okute cut his son’s jugular vein. Court heard the son went without a pulse for as long as seven minutes but was saved by measures taken by emergency crews at the scene and hospital staff.