Gun incident at Mistawasis, results in four year prison sentence

At this point, a heated, loud argument was initiated between the two men, and an elderly woman, who had been sleeping upstairs, came down to see what was going on. As she came down the stairs, Stonechild then turned the gun towards her. The woman ran back up to call police. Angry that “his mom,” had been threatened with the gun, the man who had initially been arguing with Stonechild grabbed a machete “that he had lying around” and cut Stonechild across the shoulder and chest.

Stonechild fled the residence and was located by police the following day at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, where he was being treated for an eight inch gash. At the time of the offense, Stonechild was on a 10-year firearms prohibition dating back to 2009.

The sentence imposed on Stonechild Monday represented a joint submission from the Crown and defense lawyers. Atkinson noted Stonechild’s criminal record included 33 convictions—36 per cent or which are related to violence.

Defence arguments

Saskatoon lawyer James Streeton described in great length the circumstances that contributed to his client’s criminal activity. In addition to being taken away from a stable home at a young age, Stonechild’s mother was murdered when he was eight years old. While living on the streets during his teenage years, Stonechild was recruited by a gang and began using cocaine. When given the opportunity to speak, Stonechild also talked about his troubling, early years.

“As a child, I was put on a semi, with a phone number attached to it, and sent to Saskatoon,” he explained, because his mother could not care for him, and his father was in prison.

Stonechild added that since the incident in 2019, he has taken steps to better himself, including seeking help from both the Str8 Up organization, as well as Elders in his own home community, who showed him treatment through cultural practices. Stonechild has also committed to being a positive role for his two children, as well as other youth in the community.

Judge’s comments

Noting Stonechild’s high marks in high school, Justice Elson described Stonechild as an “intelligent” man, who he thought was a good candidate for rehabilitation.

“I have little doubt that if Mr. Stonechild had lived a life outside the gang life he seemed to be attracted to, he would have been by this day a very, very successful person,” he said.

With credit for time spent in remand, Stonechild has just over two years remaining on his sentence. He is also prohibited from possessing a gun, ammunition, explosives, or prohibited weapon for life.

Stonechild, who still has outstanding charges from Saskatoon related to the same type of offences, was also one of two men charged after an armed robbery at Amanda’s Pizza in Shellbrook in 2018. The Crown has stayed those charges, explaining they could not prove Stonechild was there.

The Crown has up to a year to bring the charges back should new evidence come to light.

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nigel.maxwell

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Gun incident at Mistawasis, results in four year prison sentence

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