MOOSE JAW — A Moose Jaw teenager who is accused of attempted murder will undergo a psychological assessment to determine whether he has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) before he is sentenced to jail.
The 17-year-old — who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act — appeared in person in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Oct. 10, where, through his defence lawyer Merv Nidesh, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder while using and discharging a shotgun.
This plea is in connection with an incident that occurred on July 14, where police responded to a trailer court on the North Service Road for a weapon-related call involving a firearm.
Initial information indicated that a male youth shot the victim and then fled in a vehicle. Upon arrival, police located a male who had suffered a gunshot wound and was attended to by EMS, then transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
The teen and the alleged victim knew each other.
Through the investigation, police officers identified the suspect to be the 17-year-old male — they arrested him on July 15 — while they also identified Meagan Windover as a second suspect and arrested her on July 14.
Windover’s matters are still before the court.
Nidesh told Judge David Chow that the youth’s situation was “a unique case,” since the teen had no memory of the incident, nor could he identify the witnesses if a trial occurred. Yet, based on the evidence that the Crown has and could bring to a trial, the youth has agreed to plead guilty.
Continuing, the defence lawyer said that neither the defence nor the Crown can agree on a joint recommendation. However, before the youth is sentenced, Nidesh said he wanted a health assessment conducted on the teen through the YCJA’s Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) Program.
This program delivers specialized therapeutic programs and services for youths with mental health needs who are convicted of serious violent offences.
Nidesh noted that previous assessment reports have identified schizophrenia and psychosis in the youth, but have not investigated whether he has FASD. However, there is a specialist in Saskatoon who handles youth psychological assessments and could investigate this issue.
The defence lawyer added that he wanted all aspects of the teen’s health investigated so those outcomes could be included in a pre-sentence report (PSR).
Judge Chow pointed out that creating a PSR usually takes six weeks, while it could take longer to produce because of the need to assess whether the youth had FASD. However, he agreed to order a psychological assessment for the youth, which includes the FASD investigation.
The judge then adjourned the matter to Thursday, Nov. 13, to review the psychological assessment, while he would then adjourn the matter again to acquire the PSR and sentence the youth.
