Gord Mackintosh's son found not criminally responsible of robbery
The son of Manitoba Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh has been found not criminally responsible for a credit union robbery in 2012.
Gordon Mackintosh Jr. was 22 years old when he turned himself in to police following a robbery at an Assiniboine Credit Union branch in the 2200 block of McPhillips Street on April 20, 2012.
An investigation revealed that a man, who was wearing a disguise, walked into the credit union and handed the teller a note demanding money.
The younger Mackintosh's lawyer, Josh Weinstein, told CBC News his client was found not criminally responsible on Tuesday for robbery and wearing a disguise.
Weinstein said Justice Richard Saull of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench accepted the findings of a defence medical expert who said Mackintosh was suffering from withdrawal from the anti-depressant Effexor.
Even medical experts for the Crown could not dispute the defence expert's findings, the lawyer said.
"This was a delirium suffered as a result of withdrawal of medication over the course of a specific period of time," Weinstein said.
Weinstein said the judge's decision is unique because Gordon Mackintosh Jr. does not suffer from an ongoing mental illness such as depression of schizophrenia.
In this case, Mackintosh was found not criminally responsible because the judge accepted that he could not have known at the time that the robbery was morally wrong, his lawyer said.
Weinstein said while the ruling brings relief to the Mackintosh family, they know it won't take away from what the bank teller felt at the time of the incident.
"The Mackintosh family, I mean, one of the big things that they recognize is the effect that it would have had on the victim — not criminally responsible or not, how someone on the other end of that bank teller desk would have felt during this whole episode," he said.
Weinstein said his client is now focused on closing the chapter on this incident.
