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Jonathan David Olson’s latest conviction for a violent crime spree may have been his last as Crown counsel is applying for a dangerous offender designation.
Olson was convicted alongside Brodie Tyrel Takahashi Robinson in August in connection with a series of incidents over the 2017 Canada Day long weekend, which included shooting another gang-connected individual in the head.
• READ MORE: Two Chilliwack gangsters convicted of shooting a third in the head
Olson has an extensive criminal record full of violence from his career in the drug trade.
Based on previous incidents in that criminal record, Crown counsel Henry Waldock informed the court in September that he would make an application under section 752.1 of the criminal code.
Under that section regarding dangerous offenders and long-term offenders, an offender can be jailed for an indeterminate length if a judge agrees that an offender convicted in a serious personal injury offence has been convicted previously at least twice of a similar offence.
The application requires a psychiatric assessment and a conclusion that an offender poses a high risk of future violence. To meet the test, the offender also has to constitute “a threat to the life, safety or physical or mental well-being of other persons.”
The dangerous offender designation is a high bar for Crown to reach as evidenced in a case from two years ago when a Chilliwack man had his status overturned. Ryan Joseph Walsh had been in prison since 2009 after two vicious and violent offences in 2004 and 2008, but a split decision by the BC Court of Appeal overturned that decision.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack man released after BC Court of Appeal overturns dangerous offender designation
In another case from 2016, a judge declined to give a dangerous offender status to a man with a history of violence who beat his roommate to death.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack killer won’t be labelled dangerous offender
As for Olson, he has a much more serious history than did Walsh, but the Crown will still be left to convince the court of the similar pattern of violent behaviour and that he is at risk to continue to offend.
One case Waldock will likely point to was from 2016, when Olson was sentenced to 34 months jail for a botched home invasion at a wrong address. In that instance, Olson pointed a firearm at a terrified 25-year-old man who had been watching TV in his parents’ house.
Another incident that the prosecutor will not be able to use was from 2015 when, alongside Trevor Egilson, he faced trial in the torture and beating of a local drug-addicted man. Court heard that the victim’s genitals were pepper-sprayed, his orbital bone was broken with a punch and a propane torch was used on his leg. Olson and Egilson were acquitted when the judge found, in part, that the girlfriend of the victim did not corroborate the victim’s claims.
• READ MORE: Botched home invasion changed lives
• READ MORE: Chilliwack judge finds witness testimony in torture case leads to reasonable doubt
The 2017 incident for which Olson and Robinson were convicted involved Olson pistol-whipping a third man over the head at the Husky station on Lickman Road. The man escaped in a mini-van but was shot in the head while driving across the No. 3 Road Highway 1 overpass.
He stopped, wrapped his head in a shirt, called his girlfriend, went home and then to the hospital where he spent the night. The bullet found in the headliner of the Chrysler he was driving came from a gun later located at a residence where Robinson was arrested on July 2 and which had Robinson’s DNA on it.
The next day, more drama ensued as Olson was found in possession of a stolen vehicle near the Vedder Canal. He ended up in the water fleeing from a police dog that he fought off. He was arrested by the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team after being found hiding in the bushes.
Both Robinson and Olson face a minimum of four years in jail for the most serious offence, firing the gun at the third man. The criminal code calls for a minimum of five years if it was done with the use of a restricted or prohibited firearm, and a maximum of 14 years.
Robinson has not yet been sentenced. Olson is due in court today (Nov. 22) for an assessment regarding the dangerous offender status. The dangerous offender status means Olson could be sentenced to an indeterminate length in prison.
@PeeJayAitch
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
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