St. John's, N.L. — Four days after he was unexpectedly released from prison, an arrest warrant was issued today for Jason Earle after he failed to show up for sentencing at Newfoundland Supreme Court.
It was anticipated Earle would get prison time for offences relating to a standoff with police two years ago at his mother’s Barachois Street home.
However, when he didn’t turn up, Justice Vikas Khaladkar issued the arrest warrant.
Earle was convicted on firearm offences, along with counts of uttering threats and assaulting an RNC officer, in relation to the standoff, which happened in September 2016. Crown prosecutor Erin Matthews had recommended Earle be sentenced to four years in prison, while Earle’s lawyer, Jennifer Curran, suggested a one-year jail term.
However, Earle was freed from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary on Friday afternoon — a day after he was sentenced to time served at provincial court in a separate case. In that case, Earle pleaded guilty to other charges relating to a different standoff, one that took place over a number of hours Sept. 10 at a two-apartment home on Kennedy Road.
The Crown prosecutor in the provincial court case, Richard Deveau, and Curran had agreed that because Earle had earned 141 days credit in pre-trial custody, the time-served sentence would be sufficient. Judge Jacqueline Brazil accepted the joint submission and Earle was taken back into custody to await Tuesday’s sentencing.
But members of Earle’s family expressed outrage to hear that the 25-year-old, who was reportedly mentally ill, had been allowed back into the community without warning. Earle told The Telegram Monday he was surprised and didn’t think he should’ve been released either.
However, Don Roche, the superintendent of prisons in the province, told The Telegram today that they had no authority to hold Earle in custody.
Roche said that when Earle’s case was reviewed by the prison’s sentencing administrator — who reviews all committals — there was no documentation to indicate Earle was to remain in custody. As a result, by law, he said, Earle had to be freed.
No matter what’s said in court, he said, unless it’s documented, they can’t act on it.
“We can’t keep him in custody. It’s illegal,” Roche said. “We can’t dictate who we keep and who we don’t keep.”
In other words, it would be his responsibility if something happened to Earle inside the prison when he was not supposed to be there.
Knowing it was a high-profile case, Roche said that when the sentencing administrator was processing Earle’s file, she brought it to his attention and contacted staff at provincial court to double check the information. Court staff, in turn, contacted a provincial court judge, who verified there was no warrant issued to hold Earle in custody, he said.
“We did our due diligence,” Roche said. “We went through the process and did everything we had to do...
“It’s unfortunate that this happened, but he was treated fairly. We did the proper thing by releasing him.”
— Don Roche
Roche said the sentencing administrator deals with hundreds of cases every day from all over the province, so miscommunications can happen from time to time — at least a few times a year. He said courts also often call the sentencing administrator to confirm certain information when dealing with complex cases with confusing orders. There are also calls to prisons from the court inquiring if an accused is in custody.
When it comes to mentally ill inmates, Roche said, prison staff is made aware if an inmate is suicidal. However, once a prisoner is cleared by a prison psychiatrist, prison staff or administration has no knowledge of mental-health issues, since they are not permitted to have access to health records due to privacy reasons.
“At the time (of Earle’s release), there were no concerns for his health and he was not suicidal,” said Roche, adding that when Earle was being released from HMP, he indicated to staff he had a place to sleep. “(A psychiatrist) would have to divulge that to us (if there were concerns), but nothing was brought to our attention.
“Would it be better for him to be in custody? That’s not for me to say.”
When contacted by The Telegram, the justice department said it is, “currently reviewing the matter and is unable to comment further at this time.”
(With files from Glen Whiffen and Tara Bradbury)
Twitter: @TelyRosie
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