The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Dangerous-offender hearing set for Sylliboy
The Crown is seeking a special designation for a Millbrook man awaiting sentencing for a vicious assault on a psychiatrist at the East Coast Forensic Hospital in Dartmouth in December 2018.
Kevin Brian Sylliboy, 27, pleaded guilty in Dartmouth provincial court in December 2019 to a charge of aggravated assault.
The Crown subsequently asked a judge to order a risk assessment on whether Sylliboy meets the criteria for designation as a dangerous offender or a long-term offender. The assessment was performed by Dr. Jasbir Gill, a forensic psychiatrist in Newfoundland and Labrador who had examined Sylliboy before.
In her report, which was received by the court Wednesday, Gill concluded Sylliboy could be found to be a dangerous offender or a long-term offender.
Based on the doctor's findings, the Crown has applied to have a hearing to determine whether Sylliboy should be given a special designation.
Judge Alanna Murphy tentatively scheduled the hearing for two weeks in July and instructed lawyers to thoroughly review the assessment to see how it affects their respective positions.
“Then we'll return and see if all 10 days are needed,” the judge said. “Obviously, court time is at a premium.”
The case will be back in court in February, after a defence lawyer has a chance to discuss the report with Sylliboy, who is in custody at the Atlantic Institution in Renous, N.B.
Sylliboy has 25 convictions on his criminal record, including several for violent offences, and is awaiting trial in Truro in September on a charge of second-degree murder in the April 2018 shooting of Jamie Blair in Millbrook.
Sylliboy was on remand on the murder charge when he assaulted Dr. Risk Kronfli at the forensic hospital.
If Sylliboy is declared a dangerous offender, he would receive an indeterminate prison sentence, unless the court is satisfied that a lesser sentence would adequately protect the public. That would be a determinate sentence with or without up to 10 years of long-term supervision in the community.
Prosecutor Eric Taylor said the Crown will ask the judge to order extra security precautions for Sylliboy's dangerous-offender hearing.
“Because of his history of violence, there is a concern that the usual security arrangements in place in courts would not protect the public,” Taylor told The Chronicle Herald.
The enhanced security could include shackles on Sylliboy's wrists and ankles, the presence of extra sheriff's deputies and even armed police officers in the courtroom, and additional barriers between Sylliboy and other people.