Cole Sinclair, who was charged last spring for armed break-in attempts in Whitehorse’s Whistle Bend area, has been found not criminally responsible “on account of mental disorder.”
Deputy Judge Timothy Killeen made the ruling in the Territorial Court of Yukon on March 7, and it applies to all counts Sinclair was facing. The ruling comes after Sinclair underwent a psychiatric assessment, the results of which are not public.
Then-23-year-old Sinclair was arrested by Whitehorse RCMP on May 2 of last year and charged with two counts of breaking and entering a dwelling along with three firearms-related charges, including use of a firearm while committing an offence.
Police were alerted to an in-progress break-in in Whistle Bend at around 2:30 p.m. on April 12, 2023, when someone called to report that their surveillance cameras had detected a firearm-toting individual attempting to enter a home.
By the time police arrived, the suspect had fled the area. The police response involved uniformed and plain-clothes officers descending on the neighbourhood to “ensure public safety,” and several roads were temporarily closed in Whistle Bend as authorities searched for the armed suspect.
Following the break-in attempts, images and video footage of the incident circulated on social media, showing an individual dressed in all black smashing a door to a home with a shotgun.
The case was mentioned in the Yukon legislature on April 13, when Yukon Party MLA Yvonne Clarke grilled Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee on the authorities’ response to the situation.
While Sinclair has been found not criminally responsible for the attempted Whistle Bend break-ins, he is still subject to conditions. Killeen also ordered that the matter be referred to the Yukon Review Board for a disposition hearing.
The disposition hearing will determine what happens to Sinclair next, and the Yukon Review Board’s options include sending him to a psychiatric facility or hospital, allowing him to live in the community under specific conditions or granting him an absolute discharge.
The disposition hearing must be held within 45 days of Killeen’s not-criminally-responsible ruling.
Contact Matthew Bossons at matthew.bossons@yukon-news.com