Parents had sought help for son who threatened to shoot them

The parents of a mentally ill man who fraudulently bought a gun, hid it in his house and threatened to shoot people had been trying to get their son the help he so desperately needed.

But their attempts to have Devin Stiene Bihun hospitalized were often unsuccessful, including one attempt four days before they were forced to call police for their own safety, a Saskatoon provincial courtroom heard.

Bihun’s parents reported their son on July 19, 2017, after he threatened to shoot and kill them, Crown prosecutor Dan Dahl outlined during Bihun’s sentencing hearing. Dahl said Bihun’s mother had also heard him make threats to the general public.

When officers arrived at the house on Whitewood Crescent in the Lakewood neighbourhood, Bihun punched, kicked and swung a hammer at them. A Taser had to be used during the arrest, court heard.

Police searched the home and found a shotgun and ammunition Bihun bought with his father’s possession and acquisition licence.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer, possessing a shotgun and hammer for a dangerous purpose, possessing a shotgun and ammunition while being prohibited from doing so and uttering death threats.

Dahl said at the time, Bihun was on a two-year probation order for exposing his genitals to a neighbour and trying to kiss a young girl who was sitting in her unlocked car.

“This kind of behaviour gave pause for concern. It was hoped that (the order) with the right conditions might keep him on his medications, seeing a psychiatrist and hopefully that the problems within that small community would disappear,” Dahl said.

Instead, Bihun stopped taking his mood stabilizer medication and his behaviour escalated, Dahl said. While on remand, he attacked his cellmate because the man refused to participate in his escape plan. The inmate told police Bihun talked about shooting people, attacking guards and raping female staff members.

The Crown and defence jointly recommended a sentence that, with remand credit, would result in a two-year federal term. They said the sentence would allow Bihun to serve his time at the Saskatoon Regional Psychiatric Centre and hopefully receive a clear mental health diagnosis and get on a proper medical regime. Judge Shannon Metivier imposed the sentence.

Legal aid lawyer Brenda Freriks said Bihun’s parents support their son but had to protect themselves and the community. She said the family has been calling for help and “nothing was done.”

“Thankfully all these things were found before something worse happened,” Freriks said. “If Devin would have accessed the gun at a time when his mental health was spiralling out of control, who knows what the consequences might have been.”