Just one day before celebrating his 24th birthday, Frank Ballantyne received a two-year jail sentence at Prince Albert Provincial Court. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

Meth fueled stabbing incident results in two-year jail sentence

Jan 9, 2023 | 12:25 PM

A man who was high on crystal meth when he stabbed his victim in the back, has received a two-year jail sentence.

Frank Ballantyne, 23, was initially scheduled to face trial Monday at Prince Albert Provincial Court, but opted instead to enter a guilty plea to assault causing bodily harm.

The offence dates back to April 16, 2022. Around 10 p.m., police responded to the 7-Eleven on 15th St. W. for reports of a stabbing. However when officers arrived, neither the victim nor the suspect could be located.

The victim was soon after located three blocks away at a local pharmacy, and according to Crown lawyer Natasha MacLean had a large cut to his back.

The victim told police he asked someone for a smoke, and was led to the back of the store where Ballantyne then attempted to steal his wallet before stabbing him.

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Ballantyne was located in the area and ran through a number of yards to try and escape arrest. While doing so, dropped the knife he used in the stabbing, but police were able to retrieve it. At the time of his arrest, Ballantyne was dressed all in black including a black bandana.

Defence lawyer Chris Gratton explained while in pre-sentence custody, Ballantyne “dropped his colours”, left the gang life and was focused now on finishing his education and being a good father to his young daughter.

Making sure it wasn’t all empty promises, Provincial Court Judge Hugh Harradence inquired how Ballantyne could leave the gang while in custody. Gratton explained Ballantyne told him he received his “minute” at the correctional centre. The gang related term is used to describe a one minute beating by multiple attackers, and is given as a form of punishment for an action considered harmful to the gang such as a decision to leave.

“Inside it’s a lot more difficult to do that; it’s more violent, there’s more people involved. Essentially it takes a lot of will power to be able to say you are dropping out of a gang while on a gang unit. He’s indicating he’s done that,” Gratton said

Gratton also noted Ballantyne expressed to him he was extremely high on meth at the time of the stabbing incident.

“It’s a situation we hear all too frequently in circumstances like this,” he said.

Prior to agreeing to the joint submission, Judge Harradence noted the high traffic area where the offence occurred, and given the hook-like shape of the weapon used, the end result could have potentially been much worse. Harradence also encouraged Ballantyne to stay away from gangs and to focus on being a good father.

With credit for time spent in remand, Ballantyne has roughly 13 months left to serve, Upon his release from custody, he will be subject to a 10-year ban from owning or possessing any weapons or explosives.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell