‘Madman’ with lengthy record sentenced to 10 years for violent home invasion

A man known by the nickname Madman has netted a 10-year prison term for a home invasion as he edges closer to 20 convictions for violence and aggression.

Court heard that while Alvin James Norton is now 44, he hasn’t slowed down much in terms of violent offending, his most recent a home invasion in which he repeatedly stabbed and cut a man and broke his hand.

Norton’s violent past lay at the heart of a joint submission from Crown and defence lawyers, asking Judge Carol Snell to impose a 10-year sentence (less remand credit) for the crime — a term more often reserved for manslaughter offences, defence lawyer Noah Evanchuk observed.

Crown prosecutor Randene Zielke put Norton on notice the Crown is looking at him for a possible dangerous/long-term offender application should he continue this pattern of behaviour.

Zielke outlined Norton’s criminal record, which spans 29 years and contains a total of 42 convictions, including 18 for violence and other aggressive acts.

His first of four federal prison terms came in 2001 when, armed with a shotgun, he jumped into someone else’s fight and shot a man in the stomach. The man, who was believed to have had a knife at the time, needed surgery. Court heard Norton was known by that time by the moniker “Madman.”

His last prison sentence was handed down in 2013 when police observed him pointing a rifle at people in a backyard.

Norton’s numerous other violent offences include a number of assaults against a domestic partner, as well as her mother; an aggravated assault in which he cut a man’s head open using a tire iron when the man confronted individuals trying to steal his car stereo; and an incident in which he head-butted a homeowner when asked to leave a party.

Court heard Norton was using both alcohol and crystal meth at the time of the latest offence on March 13, 2016, when he and two others went to a house on the 1700 block of Wallace Street and attacked the occupants.

The reason for the home invasion was not clear. Zielke said it sprang from a past relationship between one of the home’s occupants and one of the assailants, while Evanchuk said his client told him it was payback for a drug ripoff.