A Moosomin First Nation man was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for evading and fleeing from police, assault, uttering threats, dangerous driving and weapons-related offences.
Jonathan Swiftwolfe, 27, pleaded guilty in North Battleford Provincial Court. A joint submission between Crown Prosecutor Jennifer Schmidt and defence Tim Nolin was submitted to the court June 25, which Judge Daniel O’Hanlon accepted.
Swiftwolfe appeared by CCTV from Prince Albert Correctional Centre and told the court “I take responsibility.”
A trial was previously scheduled in May.
The court heard that in December 2020, RCMP and Moosomin First Nation had issued a public safety warning saying Swiftwolfe was armed and dangerous. When describing him police said he had the word “Westside” tattooed on his face. Westside is the name of a street gang that originated in Onion Lake.
Schmidt told the court that the RCMP received a tip Swiftwolfe was in the North Battleford area. Police found him driving a black SUV and activated their lights and sirens in an attempt to stop him but he refused to stop. Swiftwolfe fled at a high rate of speed and reached speeds of up to 190 km/hour during the pursuit. Police say that due to Swiftwolfe’s violent nature they initiated and continued a pursuit.
Officers from the RCMP Crime Reduction Team, which specializes in gang activity, successfully deployed a tire deflation device at the Table Mountain turnoff on Highway 40 east of Sweetgrass First Nation.
When police arrested Swiftwolfe they found a loaded firearm within his reach in the vehicle. The court heard that the firearm was directly behind the driver’s seat. The .22 calibre rifle was modified to make it shorter.
Cassandra Fox, 24, was with Swiftwolfe and also arrested. She was wanted at the time on warrants for assault with a weapon and failure to comply with a release order.
The court heard that when police arrested Swiftwolfe and Fox, the two opened their windows in the SUV and put their hands up and out the window.
Fox was released from custody and failed to appear in court. RCMP issued a release notifying the public and she was apprehended in June 2021. She is scheduled to appear in North Battleford Provincial Court July 5 for a show cause hearing.
Swiftwolfe was wanted on warrants at the time he was arrested in December 2020.
The court heard that in one incident Swiftwolfe and his passenger chased another vehicle on a nearby First Nations and shot out the window at the people in the vehicle. One person was shot but didn’t go to the hospital for treatment, the court heard.
In another incident Swiftwolfe punched a woman in the face. Her three pre-school children were in the vehicle at the time. The woman was forced out of the vehicle and Swiftwolfe took off with the children. He later dropped the children off with a relative.
Nolin told the court that Swiftwolfe spent time in the foster care system due to physical abuse from his stepfather. Both of his parents attended residential day school.
Swiftwolfe, who was wearing a mask due to COVID-19 and a grey T-shirt, stood throughout the court proceedings. He alternated between standing with his arms crossed and his hands clasped in front of him.
Swiftwolfe was given 10 months credit for time served in pretrial custody. He was given a lifetime ban on owning firearms and ordered to provide his DNA to the National DNA Databank. He was also given a three-year driving prohibition, which takes effect after he is released from prison.
Judge O’Hanlon told Swiftwolfe he needs to make a decision to deal with the issues that are causing him to come into the criminal court system. He said there are programs in prison that can offer him the professional help he needs.
“I urge you to do that,” said Judge O’Hanlon.
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