Colin Wheeler's appearance in provincial court in St. John's Wednesday morning was dramatic from the start: as the courtroom door opened, he entered in handcuffs and a spit sock, a mask used by law enforcement officials to prevent a person from spreading saliva by spitting.
“I know what to f---ing do, man. Shut up,” Wheeler told a sheriff's officer who asked him to have a seat.
It went downhill from there.
Charged with two counts of mischief by destroying property, laid since he has been an inmate at Her Majesty's Penitentiary (HMP), Wheeler wasn't pleased when Judge Lois Skanes told him that he was being sent for a seven-day psychiatric assessment.
“I'm going to start punching a couple people if that happens today,” Wheeler told the judge. “As soon as I get to the Waterford, I'm smashing someone and going back to HMP.”
Skanes asked the Crown and defence lawyers for their thoughts on how to proceed, and the sheriff's officer told her that he would complete risk-alert documentation before transferring Wheeler to hospital.
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“I guarantee you someone's getting hurt today. I swear to you on my grandmother's grave,” Wheeler told Skanes. “I swear to you.
“Who voted for this Waterford s---, anyway?” he added as he stood up to leave.
Wheeler, 35, last appeared in court May 16, when he asked for an early trial date for charges of assault causing bodily harm, mischief by damaging property and four counts of false alarm of fire, also laid since he's been at HMP. He's due to enter pleas on those charges May 30.
“Your honour, these are institutional charges that I wasn't planning on happening,” Wheeler told the judge at that appearance.
Wheeler has been in custody since October, when he was arrested and charged with assaulting two women in Benoit's Cove, on the west coast of the island. He's set to go to trial for that matter next month.
Wheeler said on Wednesday and during his appearance last week that he is being held in segregation in prison.
It's not the first time he's been belligerent during court proceedings. In November, after being charged with breaching orders not to contact the women he's accused of assaulting, Wheeler attended a court date via video-link with no shirt on and became irate after being told he needed to be dressed to face the judge.
“F--- the f---ing prelim,” he told a judge who attempted to explain to him the process involved in preparing for a preliminary inquiry. Wheeler then stood up and left.
A civil case involving Wheeler will also be called in Supreme Court in June. In 2012 he filed a statement of claim against Western Health, two doctors and two pharmacies, alleging he was over-prescribed the stimulant medication Ritalin, commonly used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Wheeler claims the high dosage of the drug caused him hyperactivity and hallucinations, and contributed to him stabbing a person.
Earlier this year, the defendants filed applications requesting the court to either set a timeline for the matter or dismiss it. Wheeler indicated in March he wanted to proceed with the claim and would get a lawyer to represent him in the matter.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
