Mentally ill Ottawa man accused in 2014 hammer attack found not criminally responsible once again
An Ottawa man has been found not criminally responsible for a serious crime for the fourth time, believed to be a Canadian legal record.
Jeff Weber, 32, was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon after he attacked a 55-year-old with a hammer in December 2014 when the man stepped out of his apartment building to smoke a cigarette.
Judge Matthew Webber announced his ruling in the Ontario court of justice in Ottawa Thursday morning, saying it was clear from witness descriptions that the accused was hallucinating when the attack took place.
The judge also said it was clear that Weber was managing a lot of stress at the time and had trouble coping, adding that Weber needed additional medication to deal with the voices he was hearing.
- Read CBC reporter Simon Gardner's story on Jeff Weber, which examines whether a system designed to help the mentally ill is instead failing them — and putting the public at risk.
The judge added that the treatment plan for the accused, devised by a team at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, likely compromised the ability of staff at the accused's transitional group home to "fully appreciate" Weber's worsening symptoms.
The judge characterized the treatment plan as being about giving Weber space and not being inquisitive.
With Thursday's ruling, Weber will remain at the Royal under the care of the Ontario Review Board, the body responsible for reviewing the status of anyone found to be not criminally responsible or unfit to stand trial on account of a mental disorder.
The board must meet within 45 days to decide the next steps for Weber's care.
'Justice was not served today'
Outside court, the victim told reporters he was shocked by the judge's decision.
"Justice was not served today," said Nabute Ghebrehiwet. "Fourth time not criminally responsible? The guy knows what he was doing. He knows right from wrong.… I was surprised. I never thought he would get away with this for a fourth time.
"It's scary that he's going to be let go. Another victim might follow."
Weber's own defence lawyer didn't dispute that his client attacked Ghebrehiwet, who was left partially blind after the assault.
Trevor Brown had argued in court that Weber was in a "psychotic state" that evening, the result of his paranoid schizophrenia. The disease is treatable, but in Weber's case the drugs he takes sometimes fail, and voices in his head convince him to lash out.
Court heard Weber believed Ghebrehiwet's black skin was a genetic abomination, the outcome of breeding gorillas with reptiles. He was convinced Ghebrehiwet was infected by Satan, and a drug dealer.
At the time of the attack, Weber was on his way back to a transitional group home in Old Ottawa South from Algonquin College, where he was attending classes. He'd been released from the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre less than two months earlier and was under a care plan prepared by his psychiatrist.
The December 2014 attack wasn't Weber's first serious crime.
- In 2006, he was accused of threatening a mother and daughter as they walked beside the Ottawa River. He was Tasered and arrested by tactical officers, who found a knife on him.
- In 2007, he was charged with attempting to abduct a 10-year-old girl from the lobby of a Toronto hotel.
- In 2011, he left Ottawa for British Columbia without the permission of authorities. Outside a fast food restaurant in Kamloops, he forced his way into a car driven by a young woman, then assaulted and terrorized her.
He was found not criminally responsible in all three cases, raising questions about whether the defence, regarded as a "third option" for prosecuting the mentally ill, is placing the public at risk and failing those it's meant to help reintegrate into society.
"The mental health system has repeatedly failed me," Weber told CBC News from a secure unit of the Royal.
