BY KEITH LACEY
The issue of whether a repeat violent offender will be ordered to perhaps spend the rest of his life behind bars now lies in the hands of a veteran Sudbury judge.
Assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg called the dangerous offender hearing against Keith Belleau ?one of the the most difficult cases I?ve ever been involved in? before making closing submissions Tuesday.
Zylberberg argued the evidence is clear Belleau should be deemed a dangerous offender.
Defence counsel Alex Toffoli said Belleau doesn?t meet the criteria to impose the rare classification and his future behaviour can be monitored under a long-term offender designation.
Justice Louise Gauthier of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice heard four days of evidence in the first dangerous offender hearing held in Sudbury in almost 25 years.
She will review all the evidence before rendering her decision Dec. 14.
Belleau told the court he has become a changed man during his latest stint of almost 30 consecutive months behind bars.
He has made a choice to quit alcohol and drugs and turn his life around, said Belleau.
?I now have goals and dreams,? he said.
Belleau said he can?t change his terrible criminal past, but he has hope, faith and a new insight into his native culture.
?I have hope, I have faith and I am more calm,? he said. ?I am at peace with myself. I have changed a great deal.?
If designated a dangerous offender, Belleau, who has 21 convictions for violent crime, could be incarcerated indefinitely, perhaps for the rest of his life.
If deemed a long-term offender, police would have the right to closely monitor and impose harsh restrictions against Belleau for a period prescribed
by Gauthier.
Gauthier also has the option of not finding Belleau a dangerous offender or long-term offender and simply sentence him on outstanding charges he?s facing.
Belleau has commited serious violent assaults repeatedly over the past 22 years. Almost every case involved him being severely intoxicated and/or high on hard drugs.
All three forensic psychiatrists who testified at the hearing agree Belleau suffers from a severe form of anti-social personality disorder, but defence and Crown witnesses disagree on whether Belleau?s behaviour can be controlled or monitored in the future.
Belleau has been in custody for almost 30 months on two counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault with a weapon and assaulting a police officer.
Many of Belleau?s attacks involve using a weapon, most often a knife or broken beer bottle. He once stabbed a man he caught in bed with a woman he liked eight times.
He?s also abused alcohol, cocaine, crack cocaine, prescriptions drugs and other drugs for years.
Toffoli called forensic psychiatrist Gary Chaimowitz as his key defence witness.
While Chaimowitz said Belleau is a strong risk to reoffend based on his horrific criminal history, he believes his future behaviour can be controlled.
It would mean Belleau would have to take a drug to prevent him from ever consuming alcohol again, said Chaimowitz, who teaches physchiatry
students at McMaster University in Hamilton.
Belleau has also made significant progress attending native counseling sessions while in custody at the Sudbury District Jail over the past 30 months, he said.
While Belleau does score high on testing which determines the level of psychopathy, he doesn?t believe Belleau meets the test to be declared a dangerous offender, said Chaimowitz.
It?s crucial to note Belleau has strong community support from his native band at Whitefish First Nations, said Chaimowitz.
For the first time in his life, Belleau has sought out counseling and shown a determination to get in touch with his native culture, he said.
Belleau has also shown remorse, but the extent of that remorse is impossible to gauge, he said.
?It?s the first time he?s spoken of remorse and accepting responsibility for his actions...that?s a positive sign,? he said.
Vince Pawis, a native liaison court officer at the Sudbury District Jail, said he?s worked closely with Belleau over the past 15 months and has noticed ?significant improvement? in his attitude and behaviour.
Belleau has made a concerted effort to get in touch with his native roots, has successfully attended and completed educational and anger management courses and clearly knows he can no longer use or abuse alcohol or drugs if he?s ever released, he testified.
Belleau?s improvement has been especially positive since he attended a native spiritual ceremony last summer at the jail, said Pawis.
?That?s when he began to let go a lot of his anger and abuse issues...I?ve seen a lot of progress since then,? he said.
In his closing submissions, Zylberberg argued a dangerous offender designation is sought against only the most dangerous offenders, and Belleau
meets all criteria.
Belleau has taken counseling and shown progress in the past, but gets out of jail, abuses substances and commits horrific crimes time and time again, he said.
?Mr. Belleau has assaulted so many people, with or without the use of a weapon, and caused so many injuries...the time has come for the community to be protected from him,? said Zylberberg. ?It?s a sad state of affairs.?
Toffoli argued Belleau?s past makes his an obvious choice for a long-term offender designation, but not one as a dangerous offender.
There is very strong community support for Belleau and the courts can impose strict conditions to ensure Belleau doesn?t drink or use drugs again
and this will in large part control his behaviour once released, said Toffoli.
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