man who was tasered after shooting at regina home sent to federal prison
michael swan thorne experienced abuse as a child and was shot while living on the streets as an adult, his lawyer explained in court wednesday before thorpe received a seven-year prison sentence.
aug 14 2024
3 minute read
this postmedia file image shows a saskatoon police officer displaying what's commonly referred to as a taser. such a weapon was used in the arrest of michael swan thorne, who shot at a regina home on aug. 8, 2022.
greg pender
/
the starphoenix
brazen and very concerning.
those were the words used wednesday by regina provincial court judge murray hinds as he described the aug. 8, 2022 actions of michael swan thorne.
police were dispatched to the 1300 block of rae street at around 7:45 p.m. that evening after it was reported that a man had just shot at a house. a taser was used on thorne after he fled from officers, first on a bicycle and then on foot, according to a news release issued after he was apprehended.
at the time of his arrest, thorne was packing a number of weapons, including a sawed-off rifle, a machete and some manner of improvised weapon made from fabric and a pool ball, according to hinds.
following a trial, he was convicted of several offences, the majority of which were weapons related.
on wednesday, hinds accepted a joint submission from the crown and defence, sentencing the 32-year-old man to a total of seven years in federal prison. most of the sentence was attributed to the reckless discharge of a firearm, which the judge viewed as the most serious offence.
after credit for time served on remand, thorne has just shy of four years left on that sentence.
“mr. thorne does have a history of violence,” prosecutor aly sparks told the judge, acknowledging that the offences for which he was being sentenced did not include violence against a specific person.
advertisement
advertisement
however, she said his record contained more than 30 criminal convictions, some of which were for violence against people.
“this was not a situation, your honour, of a random drive-by shooting, but instead a situation where there seemed to be an apparent conflict going on, and the shooting was specifically targeted at the residence in question.”
sparks said there was evidence that people with thorne were yelling “shoot him, shoot him.” while she acknowledged the court had found the evidence was not enough to prove he had pointed the gun at a specific person, sparks said the crown considered the circumstances aggravating. she further noted that a home attached to the targeted building was occupied by a witness and multiple children.
“the risks posed to them, any neighbours, and in addition anyone that might have been in that house that was shot at, was significant,” the prosecutor said.
defence lawyer cassan geiler offered the judge some context about her client’s life, and what led to the situation for which he was charged.
“the history of colonialism has had a significant impact on his life,” she said, noting that multiple generations in his family attended residential school.
advertisement
advertisement
his mother died of a drug overdose when he was six years old, forcing him to live with his violent, alcoholic father. he went on to live with other relatives, after which he was abused physically and sexually, geiler said.
thorne began using alcohol and drugs at a young age, she continued, and he was evicted from his home following his father’s death. he was living on the street when he was shot, suffering injuries that required over a year of recovery.
but geiler said her client has been sober since his incarceration and stays in touch with his four young children — relationships he hopes to continue building.
it was clear that hinds had taken these submissions into consideration when he addressed thorne, offering comments of both admonishment and understanding.
the judge encouraged the man to make use of his time in prison and avoid returning to a life of substance abuse upon his eventual release.
“life doesn’t have to be endless pain and suffering on your part,” the judge said, “but it will require a lot of work.”
the regina leader-post has created an afternoon headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. click here to subscribe.
with some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. click here to subscribe.
share story
