Violent offender told to control temper by judge
A man who participated in an inmate assault inside Niagara Detention Centre earned his 10th violence-related conviction as well as a word of advice from a local judge Thursday.
“For somebody your age to have this many assaults on his record, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Crown eventually brings a dangerous offender application to keep you in jail for life,” Judge Harvey Brownstone told 28-year-old Richard Tabora.
A dangerous offender designation could result in the offender being jailed indefinitely.
“I suggest you do something with your temper because you are a prime candidate for a life sentence one of these days,” the judge added.
Tabora, a resident of St. Catharines, was sentenced to six months behind bars after he pleaded guilty in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to a charge of aggravated assault.
The assault occurred in June 2019 after a 19-year-old prisoner was attacked by three fellow inmates inside a washroom at the Thorold jail.
Court heard the victim fell to the floor after being punched by one man. He fell to the floor and the three men took turns kicking and stomping on the victim.
The victim was taken to hospital where he underwent surgery to treat a broken jaw.
Assistant Crown attorney Andrew Brown described the assault as a “somewhat cowardly attack.”
“It was a three-on-one assault,” he said. “It’s fortunate for the victim that his injury, as severe as it was, was the only injury he suffered.”
Court heard the victim did not co-operate with authorities, however, the attack was captured on surveillance video.
“Obviously, violence has to be denounced in any setting but, in particular, at the detention centre,” the Crown added.
“Persons who are there deserve to be protected from those individuals who exact street justice for whatever reason on their fellow inmates.”
The victim’s mother told the media in June that she repeatedly contacted the detention centre and Ministry of the Solicitor General following the assault, pleading with officials to send her son to a hospital.
She said her son was left to suffer for four days with a broken jaw.
She said she called for an ambulance herself, dialing 911 from the parking lot of the Thorold institution. She said paramedics who responded were not permitted inside and she was told a registered nurse was taking care of her son’s issues.
At that time of the incident, a spokesperson with the Ministry of the Solicitor General said “all inmates have access to health-care services, which are provided at all of the ministry’s correctional facilities.”
In August 2019, the victim was sentenced to 18 months in jail on a slew of charges including possession of crystal meth, flight from police, theft and several firearms offences.