The Men Who Were Not There

The Accused rented a room at an Ottawa hotel. The receptionist thought he seemed agitated and put him in an empty wing of the building. Over the next two hours he telephoned police five times, reporting that three men had rappelled through his windows and were shooting at him. Officers attending found no window damage, no forced entry, and no sign of any intruder; some thought he might be experiencing a mental health crisis. At some point a hole appeared in the wall of the room. He was charged with intentionally discharging a restricted firearm, with firearm and taser possession offences, and with breaching a recognizance. At trial the defence called expert evidence bearing on his capacity to form the required intention, and the trial judge also left the lesser included offence of careless discharge with the jury.