Teen gang member gets 5 years for initiation assaults
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
By: Mike McIntyre
A Winnipeg youth gang member has agreed to an adult sentence for his role in a home invasion which left two men critically injured. James Pottinger, 18, pleaded guilty on Thursday to the February 2010 attack and was sentenced to five years in prison under a joint-recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers. He was 16 at the time of the attack and would have only faced a maximum of two years custody under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. However, the Crown likely would have sought a longer adult sentence if he hadn’t agreed to admit responsibility and avoid a trial. Pottinger and at least five other fellow members of the MOB gang stormed inside a William Avenue home, armed with a variety of weapons including knives and ice picks, court was told. Their target was a 17-year-old boy they believed was trying to have a romantic relationship with one of their girlfriends. Once inside, they began kicking and punching the teen, broke several glass plates over his head and then stabbed him in the scalp and upper body. The victim’s 46-year-old uncle tried to stop the attack but was stabbed twice in the back with a hunting knife. Crown attorney Mary Goska told court the knife went through the man’s back and out his torso, narrowly missing any vital organs. All of the accused then fled the scene, leaving both victims in life-threatening condition. The pair spent several weeks in hospital for a variety of injuries which included a fractured skull to the youth. Pottinger told police he agreed to participate in the attack as part of his initiation into the gang, believing he would move from "striker" to "full-patch member" as a result. He has continued to be a menace behind bars, with at least 19 violent incidents noted by officials since his arrest. Defence lawyer Chris Sigurdson told court his client is a "very damaged young man" as a result of a terrible upbringing that included his mother being murdered when he was a child. Several co-accused in the home invasion remain before the courts.
