Man charged with murder in court

BY KEITH LACEY

The lawyer for a developmentally challenged man charged with second-degree murder will make his first court appearance this morning (Wednesday).

Victor Vere has been retained by Bryan Belliveau, 55, who has been in custody for more than a week after being arrested and charged in relation to the death of Keith Croteau, 59.

It’s alleged by Greater Sudbury Police that Belliveau and Croteau got into an argument and Belliveau physically assaulted Croteau, who died as a result of his injuries.

Family members and police have said Belliveau and Croteau, who was also developmentally challenged, were roommates at Extendicare York, a long-term care facility in Sudbury.

Vere told Northern Life Tuesday he would not discuss the details of his court appearance today, except to say he is taking steps to get court approval to “meet the needs of his client”.

Belliveau was originally charged with assault causing bodily harm, but those charges were upgraded to second-degree murder following Croteau’s death.

Sudbury lawyer Glenn Sandberg, who has represented many developmentally challenged adults facing serious criminal charges during his career, said there are certain procedures available in our criminal justice system to attempt to get a developmentally challenged adult facing serious charges out of custody.

“There are provisions in place to address the issue as to how a person’s ability to understand the court process and be able to understand the role of the Crown, the defence, the judge,” said Sandberg.

The term “fit to stand trial” eventually enters into the equation once a developmentally challenged adult is charged with a serious offence, he said.

“Either the accused understands the court process and concepts...or he or she doesn’t,” he said.

His own practice, when handling a developmentally challenged client, is to bring in experts to conduct a psychological and/or psychiatric assessment as quickly as possible.

If an accused who is developmentally challenged is deemed to understand the judicial process and charges against them, he would normally attempt to get a bail hearing as quickly as possible, said Sandberg.

In many cases, accused persons who are developmentally challenged are not capable of understanding the process and any good defence lawyer would apply to hold a hearing to determine criminal responsibility, he said.

“Many times in these cases, the issue comes down to criminal responsibility...in the old days it was called not guilty by reason of insanity, but in these politically correct times it’s called not criminally responsible,” said Sandberg.

One problem, in his opinion, is developmentally challenged adults charged with serious crimes must remain in custody in jail until a hearing is set to determine criminal responsibility.

“If these people don’t get bail...and many people facing murder charges won’t, the only place to hold them is in a detention centre behind bars,” he said. “They can’t be sent to (psychiatric hospitals in) North Bay or Penetanguishene for assessment until that determination is made.”

If an accused who is developmentally challenged is deemed to not be criminally responsible for his or her actions, they are usually sentenced to care inside a psychiatric facility to receive treatment, he said.