ST. THOMAS – Paige Havell’s future is unclear, but she’s eager to leave the past behind.
“Now that James has been labeled a dangerous offender, I feel relief and hope that nothing else happens to anyone else. Now I can move on with my life,” said Havell, 28, outside the St. Thomas courthouse after her former partner, James Alexander Brown, 41, was declared a dangerous offender.
“But,” she added, “that’s the difficult part. I have no idea (about the future), but I know I can put this behind me.”
Havell’s life changed forever on May 16, 2023, when Brown shot her and her dog during a drug-fueled argument at their Talbot Street apartment, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down.
Superior Court Justice Joseph Perfetto ruled Friday that Brown, who had 61 criminal convictions – many involving violence – before shooting Havell, is a dangerous offender and sentenced him to an indeterminate prison term.
“I find that the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Brown constitutes a threat to the life, safety and physical or mental well-being of other persons,” Perfetto said.
“I find that there is no reasonable expectation that a lesser measure, other than an indeterminate sentence, will protect the public to an adequate degree.”
Perfetto’s oral decision did not explore deeply into the evidence presented during the hearing but promised more detailed analysis in his written decision to be released later.
Brown had just completed a parole term at the time of the shooting. He had been living in Toronto but was also staying with Havell in St. Thomas. The two had known each other for about six months.
After shooting Havell and the dog, Brown left her in a pool of her own blood. He contacted her family to check on her before he was arrested later.
Havell suffered two collapsed lungs; one filled with blood along with an injury to her right kidney and fractures in her arms and shoulder bones.
The most serious injury was to her spine. Her vertebrae were shattered and her spinal cord severed, leaving her permanently paralyzed from the chest down.
She won’t walk again and needs help for even simple daily tasks. The shooting also caused her post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.
Brown was initially charged with attempted murder but after a jury trial in St. Thomas was convicted on Nov. 1, 2024 of discharging a firearm with intent to wound-this lesser offense-along with possessing a loaded restricted handgun. The jury acquitted him of unlawfully killing Havell’s dog.
The convictions led the Crown to get consent from the attorney general to pursue a dangerous offender application during sentencing.
At January’s hearing, Perfetto heard evidence regarding Brown’s criminal history along with psychiatric assessments and expert opinions as well as Havell’s victim impact statement.
While assistant Crown attorney Bianca Di Biase argued for Brown’s designation as dangerous offender, defense lawyer Carolynn Conron contended he should be classified instead as long-term offender receiving eight years in prison followed by ten years of community supervision order.
Perfetto sided with the Crown stating Brown was “intractable” indicating he would not be able to overcome his harmful behavior.
The judge highlighted “a pattern of repetitive behavior,” including shooting Havell along with Brown’s “failure to restrain his behavior” which poses risks of causing death or injury or inflicting severe psychological damage on others.
Brown displayed “a pattern of persistent aggressive behavior… showing substantial indifference toward foreseeable consequences stemming from his actions.”
“He is and will remain in foreseeable future a substantial threat,” remarked the judge.
Brown’s indeterminate sentence corresponds directly with his conviction for discharging firearm while simultaneously receiving four years concurrently for possessing loaded restricted handgun charges against him.
- Please note: Words such as‘dangerous’, ‘offender’, ‘conviction’, ‘sentence’, ‘trial’, ‘jury’.
- However, I don’t think it really matters right now how we classify someone based solely upon their past actions alone without taking into account present circumstances surrounding them today!
