Knife-wielding assailant angered by drug dealing

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This article was published 30/06/2022 (1426 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who moved to Steinbach to get clean found his problems followed him there, Steinbach provincial court heard last Thursday.

Devon Nicholas James Meyer, 23, was sentenced to 60 days of time served plus one year of probation for uttering threats on Jan. 31 of this year. He pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier date.

Judge Larry Allen also imposed a weapons ban and protective conditions for the complainant, who lived in the same rooming house as Meyer.

Steinbach RCMP were called to the property around 11 p.m. after Meyer came to the complainant’s door holding a knife.

“He said he was leaving the house to go kill people and steal catalytic converters,” Crown attorney Inderjit Singh said.

Meyer paced around outside before returning to his room through an open window. Officers arrested him upon arrival and noted signs of intoxication.

The complainant told police she had lived near Meyer for four months. On previous occasions, he had threatened to slit her throat and burn down the house with her inside, but she hadn’t reported those comments to police.

Awaking at the Steinbach RCMP detachment the morning after the incident, Meyer was irate but admitted to drinking alcohol the night before.

Defence lawyer Mitch Merriott, attending court by phone, said his client had spent 136 days in custody since his arrest.

Merriott said Meyer grew up in Winnipeg and fell into hard drugs, then got clean and found a job. After a relapse, he moved to Steinbach and quit drugs cold turkey. On the night of the incident, Merriott said Meyer was upset because he discovered his new roommates were selling drugs.

“He was trying to make a better situation for himself and it seems these problems kept coming to him, despite his best efforts,” Merriott said.

Singh requested two years of probation so Meyer could address underlying mental health issues. He also noted Meyer was convicted last year of assault with a weapon.

Merriott successfully argued one year of probation was sufficient, saying Meyer was “already doing the exact things that probation would tell him to do.”

“I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life,” Meyer told the judge. “I’m trying to change my life around from what it used to be and just move forward from this.”

“That’s well said,” the judge replied.

“Never forget the people you hurt,” he added, as Meyer left the stand.