“Lots of people make threats... you acted on yours. The fact that you would take steps to start a fire is concerning for me.”
Honourable Judge Kathleen Williams listened intently as Crown prosecutor Jeff Rudiak explained the details of an incident in Cold Lake in December 2017 that left dozens of families displaced from their homes.
On Tuesday, March 20, in the Bonnyville Provincial Courthouse, Isiah Hayden, 21, pled guilty to arson damaging property, choking with intent, threats to cause death, and failing to comply with probation.
He was sentenced to nine-months in custody for an incident Williams described as an “incredibly serious set of circumstances.”
Although Hayden couldn’t recall the incident, he agreed with the description provided by the Crown prosecutor.
On Dec. 17, 2017, at about 4:30 p.m., in a Cold Lake apartment complex, RCMP were responding to a domestic dispute. During discussions with the complainant, Hayden’s girlfriend, police noted her hands and face were covered with blood, and her arms and neck were bruised.
She painted a picture of an argument gone wrong, claiming her boyfriend, Hayden, had been heavily intoxicated by drugs and alcohol at the time of the incident.
He had come home to their apartment earlier that day and accused his girlfriend of cheating. Hayden wanted to see her cellphone to confirm his claims.
The couple walked into the kitchen where they continued to argue, and Hayden grabbed a knife.
According to Rudiak, Hayden started yelling “I’m going to kill you. I will gut you right here.”
His girlfriend left the kitchen and walked into the living room, where she sat down on the coach.
Sitting down next to her, Hayden begins to cry, and starts saying he will kill himself.
Removing the knife from his hand, the complainant hides it under the couch.
Rudiak describes to the court how Hayden takes a lighter and threatens to burn His girlfriend and everything inside of their apartment.
Hayden makes true to his word, and lights a couch, bed, and a basket of laundry on fire.
The building was evacuated, and fire crews were able to extinguish the flames before damage was done to other apartment units. However, families were displaced for a brief period of time.
“Those people were fearful for their lives,” Rudiak expressed.
At one point, their argument moved to the bathroom, where Hayden’s girlfriend told police he choked her to the point where she was nearly blacking out.
She had been trying to hide from Hayden when he came into the bathroom, pushed, slapped, and began choking her.
Once it became difficult to breath and she started “fading out” Hayden let go and left.
RCMP met the girlfriend outside of the apartment, and the accused was later arrested.
“This is a very disturbing fact-scenario,” described Rudiak.
Acting as Hayden’s lawyer, Hart Spencer agreed that this was an extreme set of circumstances.
“This individual was going through difficult times. He was medicating how he felt with alcohol and drugs,” he explained.
The Brandon, MB native moved to the area for work, and believes his downfall started in 2016, when he had finished basic military training.
Spencer said it was shortly after finishing his training that he was charged with driving while intoxicated. This resulted in his extraction from the military.
“Things went downhill in his life in terms of substance abuse,” explained Spencer.
Taking the joint-submission into consideration, Williams sentenced Hayden to nine-months in custody.
With 141 enhanced days behind him, Hayden had 129 left to serve as of his sentencing.
He will also provide a sample of his DNA for the Canada Database, serve a 12-month probation where he must refrain from the use of drugs or alcohol, is not permitted to contact the complainant, and will face a lifetime weapons prohibition.
Williams stressed the importance of seeking mental health help, recommending Hayden take advantage of the opportunity during his probationary period.
“Everyone is lucky. Someone could have been seriously injured,” she expressed.
But regardless of the circumstances, Williams noted, everything that Hayden has done “can be undone,” and forgiven.
But, it’s up to him to make a change for the better.
“You have your whole life ahead of you,” Williams said. “You can move on and put it all behind you.”
