By Charlene Tebbutt

Pen inmate sentenced for aggravated assaults

Jul 12, 2018 | 2:00 PM

An inmate at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary has been sentenced for two aggravated assaults on fellow inmates.

Dallas Bird, 30, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in jail for the assaults. Bird is already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years for second-degree murder, and will serve the additional four years concurrently – meaning at the same time – as his current sentence.

Court heard Bird was part of a group of six inmates at the penitentiary who chased and tackled a fellow inmate in an incident September 12, 2016 at the jail. The Crown in the case said six shanks, or homemade weapons, were found at the scene, although none of the inmates would give statements to police on the matter.

Video surveillance from the institution showed Bird on top of the victim, making what Crown Prosecutor Linh Le said were “stabbing motions.” Bird pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault in relation to the incident.

Bird also pleaded guilty Wednesday to a second aggravated assault stemming from an incident November 13, 2016. Court heard Bird and another inmate assaulted an inmate who was lifting weights by pushing the barbell onto the victim while also kicking and punching him. The victim in that case required 14 staples and three sutures to treat wounds suffered in the attack.

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Bird’s defence lawyer, Lisa Abbott, said Bird was close to his father and step-mother, and both have recently passed away. Abbott said Bird has now decided to leave gang life behind, a decision that has put him in some jeopardy inside the institution. Abbott said Bird also wants to get his Grade 12 and work toward becoming a journeyman carpenter.

As part of the sentencing Wednesday, Bird was also ordered to submit a DNA sample for the national registry, and is not to possess any firearms upon his release.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt