Accused in fecal attacks appears in court
Jail not ‘appropriate’ place for him, lawyer says
The man accused of dumping buckets of “liquified fecal matter” on five people in a series of bizarre attacks in Toronto last week made a second brief appearance at a downtown court on Tuesday.
Samuel Opoku, 23, had been scheduled for a bail hearing at Old City Hall Tuesday morning, but that court date was pushed first into a larger hearing room in anticipation of crowds, then from courtroom to courtroom as several justices of the peace said they could not hear the case, and finally to a later date.
By the time Opoku’s case was heard in the afternoon, just a handful of onlookers were there to watch proceedings with about a dozen members of the media.
Opoku has remained in custody since he was arrested last week. He is facing five counts each of assault with a weapon and mischief. A publication ban has been imposed on information presented in court, as is typical for bail hearings.
After a brief appearance, Opoku’s hearing was put over to a next scheduled date of Dec. 18, also at Old City Hall.
He appeared in court wearing a blue shirt, dark grey pants and blue and white sneakers. Like last week, he kept his head bowed down throughout.
Speaking to the media outside court, Opoku’s lawyer Jordan
Weisz told reporters his client is “holding up,” but said “jail is not an appropriate place” for him.
Weisz said that although he could not speak specifics about Opoku’s mental health, he said that anyone who allegedly throws feces at other people likely has a mental health issue or holds “strong animosity” toward the victims.
“It costs far more to jail the mentally ill than to treat them,” Weisz said, echoing statements he made last week.
Nevertheless, Weisz insisted his client is “fit to stand trial,” and said it’s “unfortunate” the scheduling is pushing court dates into the future.
“We’re looking to do this as soon as possible,” Weisz said.
Police arrested Opoku last Tuesday following three separate incidents in which police say a man attacked a total of five people with buckets containing “liquefied fecal matter.”
Two of the incidents happened near the University of Toronto’s downtown campus, the first inside the John P. Robarts Library on Nov. 22, the second on the street shortly before midnight on Nov. 25.
The other happened inside York University’s Scott Library on Nov. 24.