Man charged in Saskatoon, rural carjackings has ‘pattern of violent behaviour’

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A Saskatchewan man accused of stealing two trucks during a day-long violent carjacking spree last week was deemed too dangerous for early release during his last federal penitentiary sentence.

In 2017, the Parole Board of Canada decided to detain Brandon Wyatt Burns until the end of his four-year sentence for breaking and entering to commit an aggravated assault “as it is satisfied that you are likely, if released, to commit an offence causing serious harm to another person before the expiration of your sentence.

“Criminal behaviour supported by extended involvement in a gang lifestyle has led to deep criminal entrenchment and support of anti-authority values. Your violent attitude has carried over from the community into the institution with little sign of change,” the parole board concluded.

Eight years later, Burns, 30, is back in custody, charged with three counts of armed robbery, assault causing bodily harm, assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, resisting arrest, evading police, dangerous driving and theft.

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Court documents and police reports create a timeline of his alleged crimes on April 1.

Around 10:30 a.m., a 71-year-old man was found injured after a random carjacking in downtown Saskatoon.

He told police that a man got into his silver Dodge Ram truck and attacked him while he was trying to park in the 300 block of Third Avenue North.

He was hospitalized with injuries that weren’t life-threatening. Through court documents, the StarPhoenix has confirmed the victim is a Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench judge. The Courts of Saskatchewan declined to provide a statement at this time.

About an hour later, Burns is accused of robbing the Fas Gas at the intersection of Highways 5 and 41 east of Saskatoon. He allegedly assaulted a 60-year-old employee before leaving in the stolen Dodge Ram.

Around 11:45 a.m., he allegedly ditched the Ram and stole another truck, this time a Ford F150, from a man who was pulled over on Highway 5 near Meacham. RCMP characterized it as an armed robbery, and said the man was assaulted with a weapon.

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Burns is then accused of stealing pizza and cigarettes from the Blue Horizon Cafe at the junction of Highways 16 and 2, south of Meacham.

Just north of Watrous, he allegedly led police on a high-speed chase, tried to hit their vehicle several times with the stolen truck, and continued to resist arrest until a conducted energy weapon was used.

Burns appeared in Saskatoon provincial court last week. His next scheduled appearance is Tuesday. The court confirmed he doesn’t have a lawyer, and said the provincial Crown is in conflict with the file (because the victim is a judge) and is considering assigning a prosecutor from Alberta.

A bail hearing hasn’t been held.

According to the parole board, Burns was involved in three inmate assaults over six months in 2016. He was charged, along with four others, with second-degree murder in connection with the beating death of Jason Bird during a 2016 riot at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.

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Burns was acquitted after a trial in 2020.

He’d been serving a four-year prison sentence for storming into a home with a group of people who were armed with knives and stabbing a man in 2014.

“The attack occurred with no warning or provocation, although there were street gang overtones in your offending,” the parole board stated.

Some of Burns’s past convictions include possessing a stolen gun in 2013, and offences involving a samurai sword and machete. He was also convicted of robbery and assaulting a three-year-old child.

“Your violent criminal actions, which have led to institutional concerns and/or justice system intervention, speak to an ongoing pattern of criminality, your criminal mindset, indifference to your harmful actions and a wanton disregard for others,” the board said.

“You have caused serious harm and have done nothing specific to mitigate your risk. You present as having little control over your violent behaviour, or, as having little desire to manage it.”

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