In Powell River Supreme Court, Jason Timothy Foulds was found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder in the fatal shootings of Braxton Leask and Dylan Buckle, and the shooting of Zane Hernandez.
In a court session held Tuesday, June 12, BC Supreme Court Justice Gordon C. Weatherill passed sentence on the case, related to a shooting in Lund on June 17, 2017.
Crown counsel Nick Barber said Foulds will now be under the control of the BC Review Board. The review board is an administrative tribunal, established by the Criminal Code of Canada. Its purpose is to make decisions and orders concerning the liberty of individuals whom courts have found to be not criminally responsible for acts committed while they were suffering from a mental disorder, or whose mental disorder makes them unfit to stand trial on criminal charges.
Foulds, who had been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, appeared via video link in the courtroom. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Family members who were approached in the courthouse chose not to make statements with regard to the case.
During the session, justice Weatherill said the accused had pleaded not guilty to the offences but admitted to the killings and the third shooting. He said the only issue for determination was whether Foulds was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
The justice reviewed evidence from the doctor assessing Foulds, who said the accused was afflicted with schizophrenia.
Section 16 (1) of the Criminal Code of Canada stipulates that no person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong.
In an interview with the Peak in February 20, 2018, Leask’s mother Nichelle Guignard said the not criminally responsible due to mental disorder defence was not the way to go in this case.
“This is getting swept under the rug,” said Guignard at the time. “I want the boys to have a fair trial. They were innocent victims.”
