i -- ---- a ---- > -- TIVE RO iis rw Sie rn oa - . A i er -- 4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 15, 1998 gg "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" : McArthur sentenced to 14 years in jail Victims of shooting react to sentence with disbelief When Justice Harry LaForme handed down his sentence to Mitchiel McArthur Monday morning, the crowded courtroom in Whitby fell into a hush. People at first looked at each other in disbelief. It was only after a few moments that they began to file out and gather in small groups in the foyer, still in a state of shock. McArthur, found guilty on 17 counts including four of attempted murder in connection with the bloody shootings and bank robbery four years ago in Port Perry, was sentenced to a total of 23 years in prison. But he was granted 8 1/2 years off that sentence for the four years he has been in custody awaiting trial and the conclusion of the dangerous offender hearing. That reduced his prison term to 14 1/2 years. Justice LaForme made no mention or recommendation against parole, so he would be eligible to apply after serving one-third of his time, and will get manda- tory release after doing two-thirds of his time. Crown Attorney Mike Hill, who along with Lori-Ann Turner prosecuted McArthur at trial and brought the dan- gerous offender application, brushed past reporters on his way out of the court. When asked for comment he replied grimly, "not right now, thanks." Efforts by the Port Perry Star the rest of Monday afternoon to reach Mr. Hill by phone were not successful. Debra-Ann Taylor, the Port Perry real- tor hit by a stray rifle bullet while working at her desk in an office across Hwy. 7A from the plaza the night of the shootings, was at first unable to collect her thoughts when asked for comment immediately after the sentencing was handed down. "I really don't know what to say right now," she said, shaking her head and searching for words as media members gathered around her outside the court- room. She agreed that she was shocked totally #01 § i RE i jos This group of survivors of the Port Perry robbery gathered for a picture in December ER of 1994. From left are Const. Mark McConkey, Const. Warren Ellis, Al Kn ight and Det. Paul Mooy. Also shot during the event was Debra Taylor. at the 14 1/2 year sentence. "I am really surprised that after all this, he gets that time off immediately. And he'll get more (time) off for good behaviour," she said. "He seems to be able to project some kind of 'good guy' persona. He really fools people," said Ms Taylor, who of the five shooting victims in Port Perry suffered the most life threatening injuries as bullet fragments lodged near her heart and remain there still. She endured months after the shooting of pain and disability, and was only able to return to her work after a year away. "I would have liked to see (a) life sen- tence. After all, five of us could have died that night," she said, adding that she could understand that the judge denied the dangerous offender application on the grounds he "did not want to set a prece- dent." "But he'll do it again (shoot somebody) in a heart-beat if given the opportunity," she predicted. Const. Warren Ellis, who along with partner Const. Mark McConkey was hit by rifle fire as they approached in their marked cruiser, said simply: "I am very disappointed. He should have got life and served a full sentence." The father of two children aged 4 and 6, Const. Ellis suffered bullet fragment and glass wounds to his head. The slug hit the cruiser window right in front of his face. He's back on duty full time, but said he still suffers migraine headaches from the injuries. Const. Mark McConkey, hit by a high powered rifle slug on the left side of his face that left a scar along his jaw-line, told The Port Perry Star: "I really don't have anything to say now, except the Canadian justice system strikes again". But there was anger and frustration in his eyes, even half an hour after the sen- tences came down. Const. McConkey tes- tified at the trial and was present for some of the proceedings last week to have McArthur declared a dangerous offender. Also present for Justice LaForme's sentencing Monday morning were bank manager Al Knight and Durham Police Det. Paul Mooy, both shot and wounded on that fateful evening of Oct. 20, 1994. The courtroom was packed with Durham Police officers for the sentencing, and all had a looks of disbelief on their faces afterwards. Sgt. Ken Hudson, a veteran with more than 30 years police service who works in 26 Division (Scugog, Brock and Uxbridge Townships) suggested it was not a happy day for police officers anywhere. He quietly but angrily denounced the sentence as far too lenient. Of all the police officers who have come in contact with Mitchiel "Mick" McArthur over the years, Durham Det. Greg Heasman probably knows him and knows more about him than any. Det. Heasman, a long time Port Perry resident, was one of the two lead investigators into the rob- bery, shootings and kidnapping here and has spent the better part of the last four years on this case. "Yes, I am disappointed," he told the Port Perry Star. "It is not a very comforting feeling to know this is how police officers and others are treated (by the courts) when they are shot." Judge rejects dangerous offender designation From page 1 say for the record, "the Canadian justice system strikes again." But the look of anguish and anger on his face spoke volumes. For the rest of his life he will wear a vicious scar where the bullet from a high-powered rifle slammed into his jaw as he stepped from his cruiser in the Port Perry Plaza parking lot. Judge LaForme took exactly half an hour to review the Port Perry crimes that led to the sentencing, and to spell out why he ruled against the Crowns' bid to make him a dangerous offender. Calling the Port Perry shootings, robbery and kidnap- ping "the gravest" of all McArthur's more than 50 criminal convictions since 1968, Judge LaForme said that to sentence him to life in prison would "require more than his past history." He noted that the $50,000 from the Port Perry robbery has never been recovered, McArthur's accomplice that night has never been identified and remains at large, and that he has never uttered a word of remorse or regret for the pain and suffering he has caused the five people shot and seriously wounded. Ominously, the judge also noted that the two weapons used in the shootings, a Steyr Aug high powered semi- automatic rifle with 30 round clip, and a large calibre pistol believed to a .357 Magnum, have never been recov- ered. He called these weapons responsible for "a reign of terror -- perhaps a future reign or terror." As Justice LaForme passed sentence, McArthur stood impassively facing the bench, his hands clasped behind his back, showing no emotion. When asked if he had anything to say to the court prior to sentencing, McArthur gaid no, after seeing his lawyer Greg Lafontaine turn to him shaking his head. Several times during summation, the judge referred to the shootings as a "nightmare" for the victims, their friends and families, the tellers at the Bank of Montreal, the elderly couple who were held at gun-point in their home and for the entire community of Port Perry. ! "He has never expressed a scintilla of remorse for this reign of terror," he said of McArthur, adding he was "principally responsible for the shootings; he was the one who fired the weapons." He said McArthur's state of mind made him responsible for the "most morally culpable of crimes--- attempted murder," and these "senseless and sickening acts were motivated entirely be greed." He acknowledged that the victims would find these acts of violence to be of "stark terror," and said he dis- agreed with them only from the legal point of view. Of the victims he said, "I hope this (sentencing) will commence closure and offer you some comfort and peace." Bank of Montreal manager Alan Knight was shot in the left knee with a handgun when he hesitated to open the vault for the gun-toting McArthur and his accomplice. Constables Warren Ellis and Mark McConkey were both hit by gunfire as they arrived in front of the plaza in a marked cruiser; and Det. Paul Mooy, was hit in the forearm by the same high-powered rifle as he took cover behind a concrete pillar on the plaza sidewalk. McArthur unleashed his volley of 30 rounds (a full clip) from the walkway between the Chinese restaurant and the Canadian Tire store. Debra-Ann Taylor, a Port Perry realtor, was working at a desk in an office on the opposite side of Highway 7A, some 250 yards away, when one of the rifle slugs went through a front window and struck her in the back and shoulder. She was very seriously hurt and for a while was in grave condition in hospital. Bullet fragments lodged too close to her heart have never been removed, but she has recovered and was in court for the sentencing on Monday morning. In rejecting the dangerous offender application, the judge said Crown Attorneys Hill and Turner failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the main clauses in Section 753 of the Criminal code had been met. In general, they spell out that a dangerous offender must be a threat to the life, safety, physical and mental well being of others; has failed to restrain behaviour that is likely to cause death or serious injury; has shown a persistent pattern of behaviour of a brutal and violent nature; his future behaviour is not inhibited by any stan- dards of reasonable restraint; and has shown no remorse for crimes committed. Testimony during the dangerous offender hearing heard psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Hucker say McArthur has a 44 per cent chance of reoffending when released from jail, a figure which would apply to a large number of inmates in Canadian jails who have not been declared dangerous offenders. He testified the likelihood of violence decreases as criminals get older, and there are very few active bank robbers in their 60s. The judge said that after weighing all the evidence very carefully, it "does not meet the (legal) threshold for the extreme measures" of the Dangerous Offenders Act, which would have put McArthur behind bars for an inde- terminate length of time. No bank robber has ever been declared a dangerous offender. In fact, they are almost exclusively criminals who are sexual predators and murderers, such as Clifford Olson and Paul Bernardo. Justice LaForme called McArthur's crimes "very grave and extremely serious...... which caused serious injury to and had a Kopative impact on the hives of many innocent hard working people." McArthur, originally from the Walkerton area, was first convicted of a crime while a teenager and spent time in the Bowmanville Training School in 1967. His first conviction under the Criminal Code was in 1968, and since then has more than 50 convictions on his record. He has escaped custody eight times. In 1977, he was convicted of aggravated assault for the knee-cap shooting of a Toronto police officer trying to arrest him on a fraud charge. McArthur was originally charged with attempt murder, but it was downgraded to attempt to wound and the jury came back with a conviction of aggravated assault.