‘She was made to walk like a dog and bark’: court hears woman was held prisoner for 11 hours

“She was made to walk like a dog and bark,” Hubbard described.

“He knows he should have left” _{– Defence lawyer Tim Nolin}

A total of eight people were charged in connection to the incident. The victim, who was a member of a rival gang, suffered multiple injuries to her face and there were ligature marks around her neck. According to the statement the victim provided to police, it was Walker who tied the noose around her neck and physically assaulted her by punching her, and cut her eyebrow with a machete.

“The victim eventually squeezed out a window,” Hubbard added.

When police arrived, Walker tried to flee in a stolen vehicle but was arrested when the vehicle got stuck in a snowbank.

The Crown has requested Walker receive a sentence of four to seven years, as well as lifetime firearm prohibition. Walker’s lawyer Tim Nolin recognized this was a “very serious incident” and explained his client was on meth and drinking alcohol before it happened. He described how Walker, who at one time played basketball for Team Saskatchewan, was “sucked down the rabbit hole” after getting involved in drugs and gang life.

“He knows he should have left,” Nolin said, expressing his client’s remorse for what happened at the residence. Nolin proposed a sentence of three to four years.

According to the statement of facts, Highway did not play a role in the actual assault but was a silent observer. He was, however, found to be responsible for the guns, including a homemade zip gun and a loaded sawed off shotgun, police found in the home.

Hubbard said Highway transported the guns to that location from Saskatoon after fellow gang members instructed him.

She suggested Highway received a three-year jail sentence based on related case law.

Highway’s lawyer Patrick McDougall proposed an 18-month sentence, highlighting each offender needs to be “individualized” and noted there were several factors to be considered. He pointed to Highway’s cerebral palsy diagnosis that went untreated as a “grave significance” in the case. Because of his disability and his slim stature, McDougall said Highway was an “easy target for bullies” and often followed directions fearing assault.

McDougall said Highway warned the victim not to enter the house, telling her “something bad would happen” if she did.

Highway observed the assault against the woman while he sat on a couch, but chose not to step in or stop it, McDougall said. But he added his client’s actions were because he risked being “beaten within an inch of his life.”

Whatever sentence Highway receives would be tacked on to his current prison sentence. He’s currently serving time for an unrelated sexual assault conviction in May 2019.

Judge E. Kalenith adjourned sentencing Walker and Highway until next week.

One of the co-accused Brandy Felix, who held a knife to the victim’s throat, was sentenced to 27 days in jail last month.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

‘She was made to walk like a dog and bark’: court hears woman was held prisoner for 11 hours

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