Escaped psychiatric patient may be heading to Peterborough
An escaped forensic psychiatric patient, who once stabbed his girlfriend’s roommate, has gone AWOL before and told hospital staff he would do it again.
Police and doctors alerted the public to Raymond Mitchell’s escape from a Hamilton medical facility Monday because he is potentially dangerous.
At least two staff members from the forensic unit at the West 5th Campus of St. Joseph’s Healthcare were escorting Mitchell to a Mountain medical facility for treatment of an obvious and urgent condition, according to Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, head of forensic psychiatry. Once inside the facility Mitchell — who was not in restraints and did not have a police escort — bolted and ran out a door.
That was about 1:30 p.m. Police issued a public alert just before 5 p.m., warning not to approach Mitchell if spotted.
A warning to the public risks causing panic and perhaps even vigilantism — “We don’t want to throw fuel on the fire,” says Chaimowitz — however public safety is the priority.
About 10 forensic patients escape every year from West 5th, but in most cases they have simply wandered off the grounds while on a leave, says Chaimowitz. Many return on their own within 24 hours.
Mitchell is still in need of treatment and is likely in pain, says Chaimowitz, who would not be specific about the medical issue. He also does not have any of his psychiatric medications and will begin to deteriorate without them.
Mitchell’s decision to abscond seems unplanned, says Chaimowitz.
Hamilton police say Mitchell was spotted in downtown Toronto on Monday. Detectives are trying to locate him, with the help of Toronto police.
When he is found, he will likely be charged with escaping custody. He will lose all of his hospital privileges.
Mitchell is 29, five-foot-eight with a heavy build and weighs over 200 pounds. He has short, black hair and a bit of facial hair. He was last seen wearing a red T-shirt, red shorts and black shoes. He left without his glasses.
St. Joe’s will do a full review of the incident.
Chaimowitz speculates his patient may be heading for Peterborough, where he has family. Mitchell had no money or belongings with him when he left St. Joe’s.
Ontario Review Board (ORB) records chronicle his long history of violence, psychiatric illness and substance abuse.
After Mitchell’s latest hearing in January, the ORB concluded that “the board has no hesitation in finding Mr. Mitchell continues to present as a significant threat to the safety of the public.”
The ORB is an independent tribunal with jurisdiction over individuals who have been found by a court to be either unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible (NCR) on account of mental disorder.
Mitchell was declared NCR by the court. He has spent most of his life either in jail or hospital “as a result of his mental illness,” according to the ORB.
His offences include damaging property at his girlfriend’s apartment and then stabbing her roommate with a knife.
Another time he bloodied the face of a security guard at a mall in Peterborough. Mitchell was also banned from a men’s shelter in that city.
He was detained at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health in Whitby beginning in January 2013. The next year, he escaped while on a pass, leading Durham Region police to issue a plea for the public’s assistance. At the time, they warned he “may be aggressive when confronted.”
While at that facility he attacked a nurse, punching him with a closed fist several times.
“Following the incident, (Mitchell) was noted to smirk or laugh at himself,” according to records, and he showed no “remorse or empathy.”
Mitchell said staff used special electronic equipment to put voices in his head to “make him crazy.”
He has also assaulted a corrections officer and a psychologist.
For a while he was released to live in the community, but he relapsed to cannabis and opioid use.
Mitchell later was kept at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, Ontario’s maximum security forensic hospital. He was transferred to Hamilton in October and given grounds privileges, escorted by staff.
Mitchell has not had an easy existence. At one point, a Gladue Report was ordered to examine the systemic ways in which his Indigenous heritage has impacted his life.
Mitchell was born in Chilliwack, B.C. As a child, he was “oppositional and assaultive toward family” and was moved to special classes at school.
His parents split up when he was a toddler. His father is a member of the Dene Tha First Nation.
At 15, he was placed in a group home, but ran away.
From a young age, Mitchell used marijuana and alcohol and was in trouble with the law. As an adult, he “became increasingly unstable and paranoid.”
Some doctors have diagnosed him with schizophrenia. He has also been diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder.
In January, records show Mitchell was frustrated that he couldn’t get street drugs and that he did not have a romantic relationship.
He threatened to break people’s legs if he didn’t get what he wanted. A few days later, “Mr. Mitchell expressed a desire to run away.”
Six weeks after that, all 150 forensic patients at West 5th became completely locked down due to COVID-19 precautions, says Chaimowitz.
“He is one of a handful of patients who has seen the sunlight in months.”