After months in the criminal justice system, Jake Raynard received an absolute discharge for his role in an assault that took place last year.
Raynard, 30, appeared in provincial court on Monday in preparation for a lengthy pre-trial. Police charged Raynard with two counts of assault with a weapon, which were withdrawn, and one count of assault in connection to an incident in September last year. Raynard said he plead guilty to his role in the incident and the crown granted him an absolute discharge.
"What happened yesterday was quite a surprise," Raynard said. "In the process I did have to acknowledge some of my miss doings for the evening. In defending other people, I might have acted a bit brash. No more brashly than the people who harmed me."
Raynard said he expected to be in court for much longer and had to re-evaluate his life. He planned to move back to Thunder Bay later but said he might return to the city much sooner.
Despite the good news, Raynard said his battle against violence isn’t over and more work needs to be done to make Thunder Bay safer.
"Previous to any of this I had a different picture of what Thunder Bay was about," he said. "I didn’t realize we had as much street violence and I didn’t realize the gang violence was as much of an issue as it is. There are undesirable issues in the city that need addressing."
Raynard said he keeps coming back to Thunder Bay not because of the city but because of the community that supported him.
"That’s something very precious and you can’t find in other places," he said. "I could go out and become some rock star glass blower in southern Ontario and pursue my career but is that a path with heart?"
Crown Attorney Debbie Kinsella said the crown didn’t have a reason for conviction at the conclusion of the pretrial. She said Raynard plead guilty for his role and received a suitable sentence.
