A photo taken of Herb Bassett Home at the time of the incident last September. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

‘There was no excuse for this’: guilty pleas in care home threats case

Feb 4, 2020 | 4:57 PM

The two men who traumatized staff and residents at Prince Albert’s Herb Bassett care home last fall, have been released from custody and instructed by a judge not to set foot again near the facility.

Ralph Henderson and Ramsay Halkett pleaded guilty to uttering threats and each received a sentence of 192 days. The two men who were in custody since the incident on Sept. 29, 2019, were given 64 days credit for their time spent in remand.

According to the statement of facts read in court Tuesday afternoon by Crown Prosecutor Cynthia Alexander, on the morning of Sept. 29, a staff member who was busy packaging cigarettes for residents overheard some other members shouting.

Henderson was seen through a window waving a knife, and making a slashing motion at his throat. Both men were also heard saying they would kill everyone inside, but fortunately did not make it beyond the locked doors. A large kitchen knife was later recovered by police in a nearby dumpster and the two men were arrested without incident.

“I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes and want to move on” _{– Ramsay Halkett}

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The sentence Tuesday represented a joint submission from the Crown and the defence lawyers, which was later accepted by Judge Thomas Healey.

Alexander explained one of the issues in the case was the shortage of witnesses willing to provide statements. She added the one staff member who agreed to provide a video statement was relieved to learn she didn’t have to testify at the trial, which was originally scheduled to take place Tuesday afternoon.

When describing the criminal records of the accused, Alexander called them “significant.” Henderson has a previous conviction for uttering threats.

Halkett’s lawyer Brent Little explained his client, who has a Grade 7 education, struggles with a meth addiction. Little said Halkett wants to return to Big River First Nation and be a better example for his 10-year-old daughter.

While the reason why the two men were at the care home was not revealed in court, Henderson’s lawyer, Dale Blenner Hassett, explained this was not a personal issue and said he felt the joint submission was appropriate given how much time his client had spent behind bars.

“That’s a significant penalty to pay for a significant crime,” he said.

When given the opportunity to speak in court, both Henderson and Halkett expressed remorse.

“My mistake was walking up that road,” Henderson said.

“I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes and want to move on,” Halkett added.

Judge Healey said he accepted the fact both men had difficult upbringings which contributed to their criminal records but added the events that took place on the day in question should never have happened.

“There was no excuse for this,” he said.

While their jail sentence is complete, both men must still abide by an 18-month probation period. The conditions include keeping the peace, not possessing any weapons, and not going anywhere near Herb Bassett home. Since there was no evidence of any alcohol or drugs playing a role in the incident, there was no mention of either in the conditions.

Although no one was physically hurt in the incident, Healey noted based on the victim impact statement he read, there were some deep emotional scars.

“Your actions had consequences. They had consequences for her,” he said, referring to the witness. “This was something very traumatic for her and she’s still dealing with it.”

Judge Healey concluded his remarks by reminding both men they were very fortunate to receive the sentences they did.

“I want to caution you that if you have not learned from this and were to come back to court in the future, I expect you’d be facing a much longer period in custody,” he said.

—
nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell