A Blood Tribe man, who had been accused of assaulting three staff members at the local supervised consumption site (SCS), has been released from jail on a peace bond.
Trevor Plaited Hair, 35, was charged in August with three counts of sexual assault, as well as a single count each of assault and uttering threats. All of those charges were withdrawn by the Crown on Tuesday (Nov. 19).
The court was told that Plaited Hair suffers from schizophrenia, cognitive disabilities and addiction, he’s been homeless for a number of years and was a client at the SCS when he was arrested. His defence lawyer noted that some staff members at the SCS recognized his mental health challenges and chose to get police involved in the hopes of getting him help, but are extremely uncomfortable with him being at the facility and would like him to stay away.
The judge said while he’s not satisfied that the court is acting in his best interests, there is a lack of resources in jail, and they were left with few other options than to release the man on a peace bond. Plaited Hair is now required to stay one block away from the SCS for the next year and cannot contact any of the three staff members in the case.
His lawyer noted that he’s been receiving suboxone drug treatment in jail and hopes to get him admitted to a facility to continue his recovery.
It was also revealed in court on Tuesday (Nov. 19) that Plaited Hair had breached previous conditions to stay away from the SCS.
